Travel recovery boosts jet engine units at GE and Raytheon

A recovery in air travel is lifting sales and repairs at the engine units at General Electric and Raytheon Technologies as Boeing and Airbus scramble to increase their production rates of new planes.

Sales in General Electric’s aerospace unit rose 25% in the first quarter to $6.98 billion, the company said in a filing Tuesday. The unit makes engines for Boeing’s 737 Max planes and Airbus’ A320 family of narrow-body aircraft. The company said an increase in shop visits and spare parts helped drive up revenue in the unit.

Raytheon’s Pratt and Whitney engine unit sales were up 15% from a year ago to $5.23 billion. Its Collins Aerospace unit, which makes everything from avionics to aircraft interiors, rose 15% from last year to $5.58 billion.

The improvements in those companies come as Airbus and Boeing are trying to increase their output of new planes for airlines. A surge in travel demand has also increased demand for new jets and maintenance on older jets.

Boeing will likely detail its plans for aircraft output and deliveries to airlines for the year when it reports quarterly results before the market opens on Wednesday.

The company had planned to deliver around 400 737 Max planes this year. But earlier this month, Boeing disclosed a manufacturing flaw on certain 737 Max planes, its best-seller, and that problem could pause deliveries on some of those aircraft.

CEO Dave Calhoun last week said the problem won’t change Boeing’s orders from suppliers as it continues to target a production-rate increase.