AP

Boeing will resell Max jets ordered by Chinese airlines

Sep 15, 2022, 1:08 AM | Updated: 1:46 pm

FILE - A Boeing 737 Max jet prepares to land at Boeing Field following a test flight in Seattle, Se...

FILE - A Boeing 737 Max jet prepares to land at Boeing Field following a test flight in Seattle, Sept. 30, 2020. Boeing officials said Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, that they will find new buyers for Boeing 737 Max jets that were built for Chinese airlines but cannot be delivered because China's aviation regulator has not cleared the plane to fly after two deadly crashes. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

Boeing officials said Thursday they will find new buyers for Boeing 737 Max jets that were built for Chinese airlines but can’t be delivered because China’s aviation regulator has not cleared the plane to fly after two deadly crashes.

Boeing hopes the move will reduce its inventory of undelivered Max jets, which built up while the planes were grounded around the world.

However, the decision risks adding to tension between the aircraft manufacturer and China, which was once Boeing’s biggest market for the Max.

Arlington, Virginia-based Boeing had 290 undelivered 737s in inventory as of June 30, with about half of them earmarked for China, company officials said.

Boeing’s hopes were raised last December, when China’s aviation regulator took a major step toward letting airlines resume using the Max. In February, Chinese airlines ran flight tests. But the Civil Aviation Administration of China has not taken the final steps to allow Max flights and deliveries to resume, which Boeing officials blame on COVID-19 lockdowns.

Meanwhile, the company was running out patience.

“We have deferred decisions on those planes for a long time. We can’t defer that decision forever,” Boeing Chief Financial Officer Brian West said Thursday. “So we will begin to re-market some of those airplanes that were otherwise earmarked for our Chinese customers.”

China “is an important market,” and Boeing did not make the decision lightly, West said during a Morgan Stanley investor conference. But he expressed confidence that Boeing can find new buyers for the planes, which list at $100 million and up — although airlines routinely get deep discounts.

China is the last major market where the Max is still awaiting approval to fly. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration approved changes Boeing made to the plane in late 2020, and regulators in Europe, Canada and Brazil have followed suit.

The importance of the Chinese market to Boeing was underscored in July, when China’s three largest airlines ordered nearly 300 planes from its European rival Airbus.

U.S. relations with China were strained during the administration of former President Donald Trump, who waged a trade war with China. On Thursday, Boeing CEO David Calhoun said free trade with China has helped the company but that recent “geopolitical events” will “slow us down.”

“I think we will get back there some day,” Calhoun said at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event. “I just don’t think it’s a day soon.”

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

1 day ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

1 day ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

1 day ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

5 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

6 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

7 days ago

Boeing will resell Max jets ordered by Chinese airlines