Boeing Secures 30-Aircraft 737 MAX Order from Macquarie AirFinance

Macquarie AirFinance has ordered 30 more Boeing 737-8 aircraft, its second direct order with the US manufacturer. Boeing and the lessor announced the deal on 2 September 2025, although the order had already been booked in July and listed on Boeing's orders and deliveries website against an unidentified customer. The purchase takes Macquarie AirFinance's 737 MAX order book to 70 aircraft, with deliveries scheduled to run until 2032.

The order and how it fits the lessor's book

Macquarie AirFinance's route to the 737 MAX has been unusual. Its first 737-8 positions did not come from Boeing directly but through the acquisition of ALAFCO Aviation Lease and Finance Company's order book in 2023. In July 2024 the lessor placed its first direct order with Boeing, for 20 737-8s, which doubled the 737-8 commitments it had inherited. The new order for 30 aircraft lifts the total to 70.

According to Macquarie's announcement, the company had 227 aircraft on lease to 84 airlines in 48 countries at the time of the order. That fleet comprised 160 Airbus aircraft, 65 Boeing aircraft and two Embraer E190s. Including the new 737-8s, the lessor had 105 new aircraft on firm order from manufacturers.

Eamonn Bane, Macquarie AirFinance's chief executive, described the purchase as a further step in the company's growth plan and pointed to the 737 MAX's fuel efficiency and reliability as reasons it suits the lessor's airline customers. Brad McMullen, Boeing's senior vice president of commercial sales and marketing, said the follow-on order showed the value lessors and their airline customers place on the aircraft.

The aircraft

The 737-8, marketed as the 737 MAX 8, is the most widely ordered member of the 737 MAX family. Boeing quotes the following headline figures for the type:

Specification	Boeing 737-8
Typical capacity	Up to 210 passengers, depending on configuration
Range	Up to 3,500 nm (6,480 km)
Engines	Two CFM International LEAP-1B
Fuel and CO2 reduction	About 20% compared with the aircraft it replaces

For a lessor, the appeal is liquidity. The 737-8 and the Airbus A320neo family together account for most new narrowbody demand, so an aircraft returned at the end of one lease can usually be placed with another operator without costly reconfiguration.

Why it matters

Narrowbody aircraft remain in short supply. Both Airbus and Boeing have struggled to raise output after the pandemic because of engine and supply chain constraints, and Boeing's position has been complicated by regulatory limits on 737 production. In January 2024, after a door plug blew out of a nearly new Alaska Airlines 737-9 shortly after take-off from Portland, Oregon, the US Federal Aviation Administration capped 737 MAX output at 38 aircraft a month and placed Boeing's production system under closer oversight.

For lessors with delivery slots already secured, that scarcity supports lease rates and aircraft values. Orders placed in 2025 for delivery late in the decade give Macquarie AirFinance a pipeline of new aircraft at a time when airlines that did not order early have few other ways to obtain new narrowbodies.

The order also reflects demand for the 737 MAX among lessors after a difficult period for the programme. The two fatal accidents in 2018 and 2019 led to a worldwide grounding that lasted about 20 months in the United States, and the 2024 door plug incident triggered a fresh round of scrutiny. Repeat orders from leasing companies suggest the financing community regards the aircraft as a sound long-term asset despite those setbacks.

Boeing's July 2025 orders and deliveries

The Macquarie aircraft made up most of Boeing's order intake in July 2025. The manufacturer booked 31 gross orders that month, 30 for the 737 MAX and one for the 787. It delivered 48 aircraft in July: 37 737 MAX jets, eight 787s, two 777s and one 767. That was down from 60 deliveries in June but five more than in July 2024. Boeing's deliveries continued to trail those of Airbus for the year, although its gross orders for the first seven months of 2025, at 699, were ahead of Airbus's 501.

What has happened since

• October 2025: On 17 October 2025 the FAA approved an increase in 737 MAX production from 38 to 42 aircraft a month, more than 20 months after it introduced the cap. The agency said its inspectors had reviewed Boeing's production lines before agreeing to the change.
• May 2026: Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg said on 27 May 2026 that the company had completed its review with the FAA for a further increase to 47 aircraft a month, and the agency confirmed it supported the move. Boeing has said it plans additional increases and a fourth 737 final assembly line.

Higher output should help Boeing work through its 737 backlog and bring delivery dates for customers such as Macquarie AirFinance closer to schedule, although the lessor's aircraft are spread over deliveries to 2032.