Boeing said it delivered 51 passenger and cargo planes in June, the aircraft maker's best month for deliveries in more than three years, as airlines saw demand recovering from pandemic lows.

Boeing Co. shares rose about 8 per cent in afternoon trading.

The company, which recently moved its headquarters to Arlington, Virginia, said it delivered 43 of its 737 Max airliners, one 737 modified for the US Navy, and seven larger planes that will be used to haul cargo. The deliveries were spread across about two dozen airlines, cargo carriers and aircraft leasing companies.

However, Boeing again delivered none of its best-selling two-aisle plane, the 787, which has been plagued by production problems.

The company is trying to win approval from federal regulators to resume deliveries, which are an important source of cash for Boeing.

Boeing took new orders for 50 commercial jets in June, but customers cancelled orders for 35. Of those, Boeing said, 28 cancellations stemmed from Norwegian Air Shuttle reshuffling its order book while keeping orders for 50 of the planes.

Boeing said it had a backlog of more than 4,200 commercial planes at the end of June.

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