The first Boeing 737 MAX jet delivered to a Chinese airline since March 2019 landed in China on Saturday, ending a nearly five-year import freeze on the plane maker's most profitable jet and signaling a possible backlog of deliveries to China Dozens of finished MAX aircraft.

Tracking data provided by FlightRadar24 shows that the 737 MAX 8 was handed over to China Southern Airlines600029After that, it left Boeing Airport in Seattle, Washington on Wednesday, stopping in Hawaii and the Northern Mariana Islands, and finally flew to Guangzhou in southern China.

China became the first country to ground MAX jets after two MAX 8 crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed nearly 350 people, and last month allowed Boeing toBA(link), resuming deliveries of 737 MAX 8 to local customers.

While the safety ban on the MAX has been lifted, new MAX deliveries have been on hold since early 2019 amid heightened tensions between Washington and the Chinese government over issues ranging from technology to national security.

A cabin panel on a 737 MAX 9 jet operated by Alaska Airlines exploded in mid-air, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration to ban Boeing from expanding production of its best-selling narrow-body jet. No Chinese airline operates MAX 9 aircraft.

Chinese airlines have ordered at least 209 MAX aircraft from Boeing, according to aviation data provider Cirium.

Boeing said in October that of the 250 finished MAX aircraft it had in stock, 85 were detained by Chinese customers. More MAX planes were detained by Chinese customers, but Boeing resold 55 of them to other customers last year because of the import freeze.

The FAA's unprecedented intervention in production schedules could further delay deliveries of new planes to airlines (link) and hurt suppliers already exhausted from the earlier MAX crisis and the pandemic.

If the Chinese government continues to allow MAX imports, it seems unlikely that China will be affected by Boeing's production restrictions, as dozens of aircraft from Chinese customers are ready and ready for delivery.

Chinese airlines are expected to take delivery of 64 MAX 8 jets in 2024 and 58 in 2025, Cirium data shows.

"Our data shows that every one of these (scheduled for delivery in 2024) has already flown and is in Boeing's current production inventory," said Rob Morris, global head of consulting at Cirium Ascend. middle.

"These aircraft have the potential to be delivered in large quantities," Morris said.

Ahead of the MAX delivery, Boeing delivered its first 787 Dreamliner since 2019 directly to a Chinese customer in December (link).

China is one of the fastest growing aerospace markets, and Boeing predicts that by 2042, China's aircraft demand will account for 20% of global demand.

Boeing declined to comment on the delivery. China Southern and the Civil Aviation Administration of China did not respond to requests for comment.