Boeing Co. said it delivered 114 commercial aircraft during the second quarter, six more than in the previous quarter but 11 fewer than a year earlier.
The disclosure, coming several weeks before the aerospace giant releases second-quarter results, compares with the 128 delivered by rival Airbus. Boeing’s first-half figure of 222 also trails Airbus’ 250 and was down from 246 last year.
All but 19 of Boeing’s second-quarter commercial deliveries were 737s, production of which is set to be boosted to 35 a month by early 2012 from the current 31.5 rate. That June announcement came a month after the company planned to increase the output pace to 34 planes a month.
Boeing has a backlog of more than 2,000 orders for the single-aisle, twin-engine jet, which are cheaper than many of the company’s other offerings.
Separately Thursday, Boeing said in its weekly update that it booked 44 orders for 737s, though only identified the customer for one, Australia’s Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd. Almost half of the company’s customers this year remain unidentified, with announcements likely at the upcoming Farnborough International Airshow in the U.K. Net orders for the year are at 177, net of 37 cancellations. Airbus had secured 131 new orders as of June 30.
