Having failed for the first time in decades to post any orders for the month of January, while sales of wide-body jets improved, cancelations and conversions of orders for the stricken 737 MAX led to a disappointing month for the American planemaker.
Having delivered 95 planes to customers in the first two months of 2019, this figure dropped to just 30 for the first two months this year. Boeing was not alone in feeling the backlash of the coronavirus outbreak with Airbus also witnessing requests from airlines to postpone deliveries and cash down payments for ordered jets. Airbus recorded no orders for the month of February.
According to Reuters news agency, Boeing’s orders included a conversion by Air Lease Corp of nine MAX orders into three 787s, reflecting greater demand from airlines for the wide-body 787. Oman Air converted ten 737 MAXs into four 787s, while Boeing attributed one 767 for FedEx Corp and 10 787s to “unidentified customers”. Air Canada and Japan Investment Advisors canceled 11 and ten MAXs planes, respectively, from the order book.
After an accounting adjustment representing jets ordered in previous years but now unlikely to be delivered, Boeing’s net total for orders in February sank to a negative 28 airplanes.
