EVERETT — A deal reached in the twilight hours of 2007 by the Boeing Co. and a new customer spurred the aerospace giant over the 1,400-order mark for the year.
“2007 told us that global demand for commercial airplanes remains strong and sustained,” said Scott Carson, president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, in a press statement. “And we’ve responded with what is clearly the strongest product lineup that we’ve ever had, from the Next-Generation 737 through the 747-8, 767, 777, and our newest family, the 787 Dreamliner.”
Boeing released its 2007 sales total late Thursday night, listing 1,423 gross orders, 1,413 net requests, for 2007. The company shattered its previous best years of 1,044 in 2006 and 1,002 net orders in 2005.
The company completed a New Year’s Eve order with first-time customer Dubai Aerospace Enterprises for 100 Boeing jets. The order made Dubai Boeing’s biggest customer of 2007 in terms of order volume. Dubai also wins the distinction as being Boeing’s largest customer of single-aisle 737s for the year.
The global manufacturing, aerospace and services corporation also signed a tentative deal at the Dubai Air Show with Boeing’s rival Airbus. Industry observers will have to wait until midmonth to find out whether Boeing’s last-minute barrage of orders will allow it to retain the commercial jet sales leader position for the second year. Airbus will release its final sales figures Jan. 16.
At last count, Airbus listed 1,204 gross orders as of the end of November. But the planemaker had several tentative agreements, including the 100-plane deal with Dubai, for more than 200 jets on the table.
Last year, Boeing set sales records for several of its individual commercial jet lines. The Renton-built 737 netted 846 orders, breaking records set each of the past three years. The single-aisle plane also surpassed the 7,000-order mark in 2007.
Boeing’s real sales success story in 2007 came from its 787 Dreamliner, despite pushing the jet’s first flight and first delivery back six months.
“Clearly we’ve had our share of challenges during the past year, but our customers understand the issues, and market acceptance of our products and services has been nothing short of remarkable,” Carson said.
The 787 turned in its best sales year to date with 369 net orders. The Dreamliner has won 817 orders since its launch in 2003. Boeing intends to turn the power on in the first 787 later this month and put the Dreamliner in the air by the end of March.
International Leasing and Finance Co. turned in the largest Dreamliner order in 2007 for 52. The U.S.-based leasing company follows Dubai with the second-most orders, 63, placed with Boeing in 2007. Indonesian carrier Lion Air came in third in order volume with 62 orders, all for Boeing 737s.
Overall, North American customers still placed the largest number of gross orders with Boeing last year. That’s excluding orders still attributed to undisclosed customers. The area just nudged out Asia-Pacific as Boeing’s top sales region with 338 orders compared with 328.
North American leasing and financing companies, such as ILFC and GE Commercial Aviation Services and Aviation Capital Group, led the orders charge. Asia-Pacific had several large orders from carriers such as China Southern and Xiamen airlines, mostly for 737 jets.
All of Boeing’s widebody jets, except the 747, turned in better sales years in 2007 than in 2006. The newly revised 747-8 received just 21 net orders for the year, down from 72 net 747 orders the previous year. However, the revamped 747-8 did bring in its 100th order late in 2007.
The 747 orders, however, helped Boeing enjoy its third consecutive record sales year for freighters, with 83 cargo jet orders placed in 2007, up two from 2006.
The 767 also contributed to Boeing’s freighter success. The jet won 36 net orders in 2007, almost as many as it had received in the previous three years combined.
The twin-aisle 777 snagged 143 net orders, just 10 shy of its record 153 set in 2005 and nearly double the 77 orders it won in 2006.
Both the Everett-built 767 and 777 grabbed their 1,000th orders in 2007. The two jets have been in service since 1982 and 1995 respectively, putting into perspective the success of the 787’s 817 total orders to date.
While Boeing executives and most industry observers expect to see an industry downturn in 2008, Boeing has a backlog of more than 3,400 unfilled orders. That should keep workers in the Puget Sound region busy for years to come. Boeing delivered 441 jets in 2007, after adding more than 5,500 workers in Washington to do so.
Boeing’s stock briefly surged Friday morning but closed down $1.16 at $85.82, following news of slowing manufacturing jobs.
Reporter Michelle Dunlop: 425-339-3454 or mdunlop@heraldnet.com.
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