by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 3:30 PM ET, Tue October 8, 2024
While a machinist strike enters its fourth week, Boeing is continuing to deliver aircraft.
The manufacturer delivered 33 airplanes in September, per a report from CNBC. That figure represents six more planes than the same month last year.
Looked at another way—between the start of 2024 and the end of September, Boeing delivered 291 aircraft—and that figure is a significant drop from the 371 it had delivered during the same stretch of time in 2023.
By contrast, Airbus delivered 447 planes to customers this year by the end of August.
The September deliveries made by Boeing included providing 737 Max aircraft to United Airlines, Ryanair and Southwest Airlines, with the carriers receiving five, three and three planes, respectively.
PHOTO: Ryanair is a low-cost airline founded in 1984. (Photo via katatonia82 / iStock Editorial / Getty Images Plus)
Those planes were made at Boeing’s Renton, Washington factory. The Renton location is among those impacted by the machinist strike. Workers there walked off the job in mid-September.
CNBC reported that 10 of the planes that were provided to buyers were delivered before the strike got underway.
The strike has been a costly experience for Boeing. According to estimates by Anderson Economic Group via the financial publication The Street, Boeing lost more than $570 million in the first week of the strike alone, as a result of 33,000 machinists walking out.
That’s
not ideal for a company that has long
been struggling financially. Boeing had to come up with $8 billion
earlier this year just to cover expenses. What's more, because of the strike, the manufacturer has begun once-monthly furloughs for executives.
Industry analysts are now projecting that the manufacturer could complete 25 Max aircraft per month once the strike is resolved. However, Boeing’s plans to reach production of 38 Max planes per month may be at least a year off.
Additional deliveries in September included four 787 Dreamliner planes. They were made in South Carolina at a non-union factory.
The company has a backlog of 5,456 aircraft.
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