By Sam Boughedda
Boeing (NYSE:BA) CFO Brian West said at the Bank of America Global Industrials Conference on Wednesday that the focus for Boeing in China is to return to service for its MAX model.
The 737 MAX was grounded in China in March 2019, but earlier this year, it made its long-awaited return after almost four years, with Chinese authorities lifting the ban on January 13. However, West believes there are currently 27 or 28 MAXs back flying again in the country.
"So China, for us, is to focus on return to service for the MAX. That is job one," stated West. "There's 97 airplanes that were grounded with the MAX. 27 or 28 are back flying again. That's 20 more than it was this time last month, so progressing, and we stand ready to help our customers in China return those like 70 airplanes to service as traffic continues to grow in that market."
West envisions air traffic and customers in the country continuing to grow and, at a point in time, a potential return to delivery discussion.
As a result, and looking at the longer-term picture, West revealed that in the next 20 years, by Boeing's estimation, over 8,000 airplanes will be needed in the Chinese market.
"That's a lot for two legacy airframers to handle," said West. "So we think there's a role in there for the competitors to play."