Boeing announced an order from BOC Aviation for 50 737 MAX 8s, 30 737-800NGs and two 777-300ERs. The order is valued at $8.8bn at list prices. This is the largest in BOC Aviation’s 20-year history.
“Following the successful placement of the 50 Next Generation 737 aircraft that we ordered in 2006, this is a continuation of our commitment to be responsive to airline customers which are expanding or replacing older fleets,” said Robert Martin, managing director and chief executive officer, BOC Aviation. “The 737 is known for its operational and fuel efficiency, and BOC Aviation expects healthy demand for the Next Generation 737 and 737 MAX variants in the next seven years.”
The order adds to BOC Aviation’s fleet, which is among the youngest in the leasing industry with an average of less than four years.
The order is interesting as it shows the 8MAX and -800NG remain at the center of industry attention.  Boeing states it has 2,159 MAX orders but provides no breakdown by model number. Wikipedia data shows 2,115 MAX orders of which 464 have no model number. Combining Boeing order data for the NG and Wikipedia order data for MAX we created the following chart. It would seem reasonable to assume the 464 MAX orders yet to be identified by model number should break down along the lines of those already identified.
The move to larger models is clear. The -700 is far more popular than the 7MAX. The 9MAX is doing much better than the -900. The 8MAX is holding virtually the same market share the -800 holds now.
The popularity of the 9MAX is intriguing as not only does this reinforce the move to larger aircraft, it might also hint at the market’s desire for a 757-size replacement. The 9MAX does not fulfill all the 757 can do, but it likely does enough to work for now for airlines that have not switched to the A321neo, which also falls short of a perfect 757 replacement.
