NEW YORK (AP) — Boeing Co. said Thursday its commercial aircraft deliveries rose 10 percent in the last three months of 2011, driven by widespread growth among its models and two deliveries of the aircraft maker's highly anticipated 787.
Chicago-based Boeing Co. said it delivered 128 commercial airplanes in the fourth quarter, compared with 116 in the same period a year earlier. In the third quarter, it delivered 127 commercial planes, including its first 787 to Japanese airline All Nippon Airways.
The fourth-quarter 2011 results included two deliveries of the 787, which Boeing calls the Dreamliner. They also included nine deliveries of the 747, none of which were delivered in last year's fourth quarter; six 767 deliveries, up from three a year ago; and 20 777s, compared with 18 deliveries a year earlier.
The biggest chunk of the fourth-quarter tally was 91 deliveries of its 737 model, down slightly from 95 in the fourth quarter of 2010. Boeing has announced plans to build a new version of this iconic model with a new engine, which it calls the 737 max.
Southwest Airlines Co. is set to be the first recipient of that plane, a response to a plan by rival Airbus to build a more fuel-efficient version of its popular plane, the A320 neo. The Southwest order is the biggest firm order in Boeing's history by number of planes — 208 — and by list-price value, at nearly $19 billion.
For all of 2011, Boeing said deliveries rose 3 percent to 477 from 462 the year before.
Shares of the company slipped 79 cents to $73.54 in midday trading.