According to a report from Jefferies, Boeing's (NYSE:BA) China Southern MAX-8, a model that has been under observation since last summer, is currently engaged in what seems to be a customer acceptance flight. This development may indicate a potential restart of MAX deliveries to China, a significant move for Boeing.
The aircraft has been tracked from Boeing Paine Field (BFI) to Grant County (Moses Lake) and back. This specific MAX-8 model was relocated from MWH to BFI on Aug 22 and has since undergone five test flights. The pattern of these flights suggests they are part of the customer acceptance process, a critical step before final delivery. Widebodies (WBs) usually require three such flights, whereas narrowbodies (NBs) like the MAX-8 typically require just one.
“BA has 85 Chinese MAXs in inventory (of 250 total) w/ a further 118 in unfilled orders, a source of potential upside, as the 50/mo rate and $10BB FCF targets in 2025/2026 are ex-China,” commented the analysts.