BOC Aviation bets big with 50 Boeing 737 MAX 8s
March 31, 2025
Global aircraft lessor BOC Aviation is on a shopping spree, it seems, having added 50 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft to today’s 70 A320neo family aircraft agreed in a separate deal with Airbus.
The 50 new Boeing aircraft are scheduled for delivery through to 2031 and include conversion rights to other variants of the 737 MAX family. “BOC Aviation’s latest investment in the 737-8 demonstrates the confidence lessors have in this airplane to meet continued air travel demand and improve fuel efficiency,” commented Brad McMullen, Boeing senior vice president of commercial sales and marketing.
With this latest deal, BOC Aviation has taken its total MAX purchase commitments to over 140 units: “The largest Boeing orderbook position in our history,” explained Steven Townend, CEO and managing director of BOC Aviation. “This order will enable us to continue providing our airline customers with technologically advanced aircraft for their future fleet growth”.
Just as rival Airbus experienced a relatively slow February in terms of orders (14 aircraft), Boeing took orders for just 13 units. All of these were for 737 MAX aircraft, including a previous five for BOC Aviation, which will be delivered in 2026 and 2027 and leased to Arajet.
Boeing hopes to reach a rate of 38 new-build MAX units a month (a limit currently imposed by the FAA in the wake of increased safety and monitoring oversight) later this year, subsequently intending to solicit approval to increase output. During the company’s Q4 earnings call, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg revealed that Boeing is “making steady progress” towards stabilising production, noting that Boeing’s “customers are reporting that they are encouraged with what they are seeing, as they monitor our production”.
Certainly, the 50-strong deal would seem to signal renewed confidence in the manufacturer’s flagship narrowbody product; in line with Ortberg’s strategy reaffirmed during January’s Q4 call. “My team and I are focused on making the fundamental changes needed to fully recover our company’s performance and restore trust with our customers, employees, suppliers, investors, regulators and all others counting on us,” he concluded.
