Boeing keeps up strong delivery pace in October 

By Dan Catchpole

SEATTLE (Reuters) -Boeing said on Tuesday that it delivered 53 jets in October, bringing its total for the year to 493, and received 15 new orders last month.

The U.S. planemaker delivered 39 of its best-selling 737 MAX jets, including nine to Southwest Airlines and five to Irish budget airline Ryanair. It delivered one 737 NG to be converted into a P-8 maritime patrol plane for the U.S. Navy. Boeing also delivered 13 widebody jets: seven 787 Dreamliners, two 777 freighters and four 767s.

The company is on track to have its highest annual delivery total since 2018, when it delivered 806. Boeing's annual delivery totals tumbled the following year, when the 737 MAX was grounded following two crashes that killed 346 people. It was the beginning of a series of production safety and quality crises, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, which destabilized Boeing's output.

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg has focused the company's commercial airplane division on improving production quality in 2025. The company recently was approved by federal regulators to increase 737 output to 42 jets per month, from 38.

The company still trails European rival Airbus, which delivered 585 airplanes in the first 10 months of the year.

October was a quiet month for Boeing's order book. The company logged 15 new orders - eight 737s and seven 787s - but it also received cancellations for seven 737 orders, for a net total of eight orders. 

Boeing has received 320 orders for its 787 Dreamliner so far this year. That is the second-most 787 orders the company has received in a year, behind the 369 orders it received in 2007. 

The company is expanding its production facilities in South Carolina, where it assembles the 787.

Last week, two Central Asian airlines announced plans to order more 787s. 

Through the first 10 months of this year, Boeing has booked 782 new orders after adjusting for cancellations and conversions. 

The company's order backlog is now 5,911. 

Boeing shares closed up 0.1% at $194.81 on Monday. The shares have gained 13.4% so far this year.

(Reporting by Dan Catchpole in Seattle; Editing by Matthew Lewis)