Boeing delivers 50 jets in May as 737 MAX rebounds from defect

Boeing delivered 50 jets in May, 13 fewer than European rival Airbus, but a 43% improvement on the same month last year. Deliveries of the cash-generating Boeing 737 MAX increased to 35 jets in May, Boeing said Tuesday. The company handed over only 17 MAXs to customers the prior month, when Boeing found a bracket installation defect that forced it to fix aircraft before delivery. Boeing also delivered eight widebody 787 Dreamliners, three 767 freighters, three 777 freighters and a 737 that will be modified into a P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft for South Korea. Boeing's monthly orders and deliveries snapshot comes a week before aerospace executives gather for the Paris Air Show, where both Boeing and Airbus are expected to cement new deals. At the same time, both airplane makers are struggling with supply chain challenges that threaten to curb deliveries - a closely watched metric for Wall Street analysts, as Boeing and Airbus receive the bulk of payment for aircraft after handing over jets to customers. Boeing has started to deliver reworked 737s, CFO Brian West said in late May, adding the company predicted MAX deliveries would increase from about 30 per month to about 40 per month in the second half of the year.<br/>