Boeing's deliveries remain sluggish persist in April as safety crisis slows output

Investing.com -- Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) deliveries of aircraft likely remained sluggish in April following a slump in Q1 as aircraft continues to prioritize maintenance on existing aircraft rather than rollout new ones amid an ongoing safety crisis that has triggered multiple regulatory investigations, Bank of America said Tuesday, citing industry data.

Boeing delivered just three 737s jets as of Apr. 11, BofA said, citing Aero Analysis Partners/AIR, while data from Cirium also confirmed that just three 737s jets were delivered as of mid-April, representing a significant drop from the 13 737s delivered during the same period last year. The aircraft maker other deliveries in April included three 787s and one 777. 

In Q1, Boeing delivered just 83 commercial airplanes, the lowest quarterly total in nearly three years.

The company, which is under regulatory scrutiny -- following several inflight safety indices including the mid-air Alaska Airlines cabin panel blowout earlier this year -- has been forced to prioritize rework on existing aircraft over the rollout of new ones due to ongoing inspections by the Federal Aviation Authority, BofA added.

Boeing's 787 dreamliners have also come under the regulatory spotlight following a whistleblower's claim that the jets are at risk of premature failure as the fuselage of the 787 Dreamliner wasn't fastened correctly.

But Aero Analysis Partners/AIR remains skeptical about the whistleblower's claims, noting that the Federal Aviation Authority hadn't taken any corrective actions since it was reportedly made aware of the issue in January.

The ongoing safety crisis is likely to be a short-term pain, but long-term gain to Boeing as it is likely to benefit from strong global air travel demand and improved quality assurance from ongoing measures to improve safety, BofA said as it maintained its neutral rating on Boeing.