Boeing deliveries tick up to 57 jets in September

SEATTLE, Oct 13 — Boeing said on Tuesday it delivered 57 jets in September, up from ​51 in August and 55 a year earlier as the US plane maker works to ramp up production of its best-selling 737 MAX narrow-body.

• Turkish ‌Airlines' order for 100 737 MAX jets boosted Boeing's September total of new orders to 165

• Company still ⁠trailed European rival Airbus' 72 deliveries in ​September, but it far outsold its rival, ⁠which booked only 17 new orders from two customers last month

• Boeing shares fell ‌1.6% in afternoon trading

• ‌September orders did not include any of the 200 jets China committed ⁠to in May. Company officials had hoped to ⁠convert some of those into firm orders during last month's summit between Chinese and US leaders

• "We are making progress toward addressing China's growing need for airplanes. We continue to follow China's established airplane procurement process by working closely with the government and our customers," a Boeing spokesperson told Reuters

• September deliveries included ‌43 737 MAX jets, eight 787s, two 777 freighters ​and four 767s, including three for Boeing's defense unit for completion as KC-46 aerial refueling tankers

• The higher deliveries come as Boeing works to consistently increase 737 MAX output to 47 jets a month, which has taken longer than expected, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said during an investor conference in September

• Through September, it has delivered 475 jets this year, up 8% from a year earlier. ​That includes 363 737 MAX jets, the most the MAX program has ever delivered in the ‌first nine months ‌of a ⁠year

• In addition to Turkish Airlines' order, Boeing booked orders for 20 737 MAX jets for Lufthansa, six 737 MAX and five 787 jets for Biman Bangladesh Airlines, and eight 777-8 freighters and two 777 freighters for Ethiopian Airlines. Another six 737 MAX ‌and 18 787 orders came ​from unidentified customers

• Boeing ended September with an ‌official backlog of 6,371 ⁠jets, up from ​6,156 at the end of August

(Reporting by Dan Catchpole in Seattle; Editing by Jamie Freed and ​Jonathan Spicer )

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