Boeing plans to remarket some 737 MAX jets earmarked for Chinese airlines

By David Shepardson and Rajesh Kumar Singh

WASHINGTON/CHICAGO (Reuters) – Boeing will start to remarket some 737 MAX jets earmarked for Chinese language prospects, because it can not wait indefinitely whereas political tensions between the US and China snarl deliveries, the corporate’s prime executives mentioned on Thursday.

Chief Govt Dave Calhoun and Chief Monetary Officer Brian West mentioned the necessity to remarket a number of the planes at separate occasions.

“We now have deferred choices on these planes for a very long time. We will not defer that call perpetually. So we’ll start to remarket a few of these airplanes,” West mentioned at a Morgan Stanley convention.

Calhoun, talking to reporters on the sidelines of an aviation occasion in Washington, expressed pessimism about resuming deliveries in China.

On the necessity to remarket some jets, he mentioned, “We’ll do it in a really sluggish manner as a result of I need to shield our prospects in China however you may’t wait perpetually. You have to transfer them and there’s a huge market.”

Boeing shares have been up 1.8% on the information.

Boeing mentioned in July that it had about 290 undelivered airplanes and about half have been designated for Chinese language prospects

The Biden administration has criticized China for stopping Boeing purchases. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo mentioned final 12 months that the Chinese language authorities was stopping its home airways from shopping for “tens of billions of {dollars}” of Boeing airplanes.

Calhoun mentioned resuming deliveries in China was vital to Boeing’s future, however mentioned the outlook for promoting planes to China within the “close to time period … a 12 months or two” was unfavourable.

However he mentioned, “I do suppose we’ll get again there some day, I simply do not suppose it is a date quickly.” He mentioned he thinks the Biden administration desires to assist.

Calhoun mentioned he didn’t see plane demand slowing. “It is fairly strong.”

(Reporting by David Shepardson and Rajesh Kumar Singh; Modifying by Leslie Adler)