RENTON, Wash. — Boeing has secured a pair of multi-billion-dollar orders in two days, which aviation experts said is a positive sign for the aerospace giant.
Vietnam Air announced Monday an order of 50 737-8 MAX jets with Boeing. It was announced during a signing ceremony with President Biden in Hanoi and is part of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the U.S. and Vietnam. One day later, aircraft leasing company SMBC Aviation Capital said it ordered 25 Boeing 737 MAX jets.
Aviation Consultant Scott Hamilton said these orders are an economic boost for the region.
"It's good for the supply chain that feeds into Renton, so this is really a positive piece of information that we have back-to-back," Hamilton said. "People are getting more confident that Boeing is on the path to recovery."
While these are large orders, Boeing is still below the production rate it was at prior to the MAX's grounding in 2019.
"They're at an advertised rate of 38 a month. I don't think they're meeting that consistently because of input of supply chain issues," said Hamilton.
According to the White House, the deal with Vietnam Air "will support more than 33,000 direct and indirect jobs across the U.S."
"Sure there will be people hired as they ramp up production, but that's going to be a slow process," said Hamilton.
Boeing did not release financial details but each jet is worth about just over $100 million at list price, meaning each deal is worth billions of dollars. Hamilton said this likely is part of a larger trend.
"I do think that you're going to see more sizeable orders coming for the 737 MAX," Hamilton said.
While this is a large order, it's not the largest order Boeing has secured this year. In February, Air India ordered 220 Boeing aircraft jets making it the company's third-largest sale of all time.