In May, Boeing faced another disappointing month as it received orders for only four new planes. For the second consecutive month, there were no orders for its best-selling 737 Max, as the aftermath of a side panel blowout incident in January continues to impact the company.
In comparison, Airbus, Boeing’s European competitor, reported net orders for 15 planes in May, with 27 sales and 12 cancellations.
Furthermore, Boeing had to face the cancellation of an order for a single Max jet by Aerolineas Argentinas, resulting in a net sales figure of only three for the month.
As a result of these dismal results, shares of The Boeing Co. dropped by 3% during afternoon trading.
These disappointing figures follow the poor performance in April, when Boeing reported seven sales, none of which were for the Max.
Boeing remains hopeful that the sluggish pace of orders is merely a temporary lull in sales, with expectations for a potential rebound at next month’s Farnborough International Airshow, where aircraft deals are frequently announced.
However, the production of Boeing’s 737s is being limited by the Federal Aviation Administration due to a series of incidents. These include a door plug blowing out from an Alaska Airlines Max, allegations from whistleblowers claiming that Boeing has been cutting corners to speed up production, and reports of falsified inspection records on certain 787 Dreamliner jets.
In May, Boeing, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, delivered a total of 24 jetliners, with 19 of them being Max jets. Ryanair from Ireland received four planes, while Alaska Airlines received three. In comparison, Airbus reported delivering 53 planes during the same month.
Despite recent slower sales, Boeing still has an extensive backlog of over 5,600 orders.