Boeing commercial jet deliveries drop by two in April

(Reuters) - Boeing said on Tuesday it delivered 24 commercial airplanes last month, down by two from the 26 planes it handed over to customers during a weak April for deliveries a year ago, as the U.S. planemaker works to improve production of its 737 MAX.

Boeing also reported 33 cancellations for the month, due largely to Canadian budget carrier Lynx Air's ceasing operations, which accounted for 29 of the planes, Boeing said.

Boeing has said it is producing fewer MAX single-aisle jets to improve manufacturing quality after the Jan. 5 mid-air blowout of a door plug on a 737 MAX 9 jet brought the U.S. planemaker under increased scrutiny from regulators.

The planemaker said it delivered 16 MAX jets, down one from the same month in 2023, when deliveries were impacted by a supplier's manufacturing defect.

Reuters reported in April that Boeing's monthly output rate fell as low as single digits in late March, well below a Federal Aviation Administration-imposed (FAA) cap of 38 jets a month.

Aircraft deliveries are closely watched by Wall Street because planemakers are able to collect the majority of their money when they hand over jets to customers.

Boeing also said it had taken seven gross new orders in April. That brings Boeing's gross order total so far this year to 138.

After removing cancellations and conversions, Boeing posted a net total of 100 orders since the start of 2024.

After further accounting adjustments to reflect the quality of the backlog, Boeing reported adjusted net orders of 127 airplanes so far this year.

Boeing's backlog declined from 5,668 to 5,646 as of April 30.

Earlier this month, Boeing's European rival Airbus said it delivered 61 aircraft in April, up 13% from the same month of 2023, bringing deliveries so far this year to 203.

(Reporting By Allison Lampert in Montreal; Editing by Leslie Adler)