Boeing Took 18 Commercial Orders in Prior Week

Boeing Co said it took orders for 18 commercial aircraft in the week ended April 5, all but one of them for its best-selling 737 narrowbody.

The orders, which also included one widebody 777, are worth at least $1.2 billion, based on current average list prices.

Included are 15 previously reported orders from Turkish Airlines, comprising ten 737-800s and five 737-900ERs. Two 737 orders and the 777 order were from unidentified customers.

Boeing also identified Qatar Airways as the customer for two 777 orders that were formerly listed as unidentified. Boeing, which competes with EADS unit Airbus, now has a net total of 106 orders for commercial aircraft this year.

Boeing also reported Thursday that it delivered 104 commercial aircraft in the first quarter, including 87 next-generation 737s, four 767 widebodies and thirteen 777s.

The defense business delivered 28 units in the quarter, including seven Chinook helicopters and 13 F/A-18E/F and EA-18G fighters.

Earlier this week, Boeing urged airlines operating some of its most-flown 737 models to check for metal fatigue after a tear in the fuselage of a Southwest Airlines 737-300 forced an emergency landing in Arizona on April 1.

U.S. regulators also ordered airlines to inspect older model 737s to check for possible cracks that cannot be seen with the naked eye along joints in the fuselage that bond layers of aircraft skin.

Boeing shares were up 62 cents, or 0.8 percent, at $74.34 in afternoon trading.

(Reporting by Karen Jacobs, editing by Maureen Bavdek and Gerald E. McCormick and Ted Kerr)