Boeing set to deliver first 737 Max since plane's grounding

Boeing is set to deliver a 737 Max to United on Tuesday, the first delivery of the troubled plane since its grounding almost two years ago. The delivery was confirmed to CNN Business by two people familiar the with plans. It's an important milestone for Boeing, yet it's only the first step in a long path to deliver planes and restore much-needed cash flow. Boeing is sitting on about 450 Max jets it has built since the March 2019 grounding, which followed two fatal crashes that killed 346 people. The US FAA lifted its grounding of the plane on November 18, though most other aviation authorities around the world have yet to follow suit. The company has said it expects to deliver only half of those 450 planes by the end of 2021. While most of the remaining deliveries will be completed in 2022, some will not be cleared until the following year. Meanwhile, Boeing is scrambling to find new buyers for some of those planes. Boeing kept building the planes despite not being able to deliver them to customers, in part to ensure its supplier base was not wiped out by the Max grounding. But that caused a huge cash drain for the company, as it usually receives most of the payment for a plane upon delivery. A 737 Max typically sells for about $55m, according to industry experts. In United's case, to preserve cash the airline is planning to finance 100% of the cost of new aircraft for the foreseeable future and has arranged for $1.6b in financing to do so. <br/>