After a year of setbacks resulting from the Boeing 737 MAX grounding, 2020 has proven especially detrimental to Boeing's commercial jet sales.
The Chicago-based aerospace giant reported no orders for new airliners in October and September, and orders for 37 of its MAX jets were cancelled as the company struggles to regain footing with the grounding of its MAX jet and a global pandemic that crippled the airline industry.
 |
| Boeing 737 MAX Jet |
The company last reported a new aircraft order in August. It has failed to record any orders for commercial planes in five out of 10 months of this year.
Customers canceled orders for 12 Max jets, and Boeing had to drop another 24 orders last month as it scales down production to match demand.
Boeing depends on deliveries for its cash flow, the company delivered only 13 airliner in October, down from 20 in October 2019.
Boeing's backlog of MAX jets has shrunk by more than 1,000 orders this year, and it attributed dropping the latest 25 jets from its backlog because of the financial weakness of its buyers.
Aircraft parts buyers are already capitalizing off retired aircraft from the air lines that were to purchase these jets. As more airlines ground their planes, they are retiring fleets early and see less reason to invest in new aircraft. These dismantlers are anticipating more MRO activity than new parts aquisition.
The MAX has being grounded worldwide since March 2019 after two crashes killed over 300 people combined. Boeing expects the U.S. safety regulators to approve changes it made to its software, computers and pilot training by the end of the year, and to clear the plane to resume flying.
With the amount of orders being cancelled, it remains to be seen how many MAX jets will be flying by the time its cleared for flight, and how Boeing will pull through with a dwindling backlog of aircraft.
Meanwhile, Boeing's rival Airbus had a better month, booking 11 new orders and delivering 72 planes in October. If dismantling companies are looking for companies to buy their used parts, Airbus may be a good pitch.
