Customers also cancelled deals for 16 jets last month, leaving net order figure at 22 units.
Boeing in May ramped up its delivery pace to 60 aircraft, more than in any month this year, but landed net new orders for only 22 jets.
The faster delivery cadence comes as the company has been accelerating its production rates, having on 27 May said it had started running its 737 assembly facility in Renton at a rate of 47 jets monthly, up from 42 previously.
The 60 jets Boeing delivered last month included 51 737 Max, of which Southwest Airlines alone received seven, one 737NG-based military aircraft, six 787s, one 767 Freighter and one 777F.
Boeing received gross orders in May for 27 aircraft: Lufthansa ordered 10 787s, Tui Travel Aviation Finance signed for one 737 Max, and unnamed customers ordered two 737 Max and 14 737NGs.
Boeing does not disclose details about the 737NG deals, but in March the US Air Force said it had awarded the manufacturer a $2.3 billion contract to acquire an undisclosed number of E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft, which are based on the 737-700. Boeing also produces 737-800-based P-8 maritime surveillance jets.
Customers also last month cancelled orders for 16 737 Max: South Korea’s Jeju Air scrubbed eight, Aviation Capital Group axed six and BOC Aviation and Air Europa each cancelled one.
Additionally, Boeing in May moved orders for 11 aircraft from an accounting bucket reserved for deals the company does not expect to close, to its backlog, signalling it now expects they will result in sales. That activity left Boeing with the 22 net new orders last month.
The company ended May with a backlog of 6,178 jets, down from 6,216 at the end of April.
In the first five months of 2025, Boeing landed net orders for 295 jets and delivered 250 aircraft – more shipments than in the first five months of any year this decade.
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