Boeing ended the year with negative commercial airplane orders for the first time in decades,
CNBC reports.
At the end of 2019, the aerospace giant lost orders for 87 airplanes, meaning it had more cancellations than new orders.
The high rate of cancellations is the latest sign that the crisis surrounding the 737 Max — the airplane involved in two fatal crashes that took the lives of 346 people — is continuing to affect Boeing’s bottom line. Its order book for the troubled jet shrank by 183 planes — though much of that had to do with some low-cost overseas airlines, like India’s Jet Airways, going bankrupt. But thanks to ongoing problems getting the 737 Max certified, there wasn’t enough demand to make up the losses.
There was a 90 percent drop in orders for 737 models during the year,
according to CNN. Boeing barely had any firm orders for the Max after the grounding in mid-March, but other models also suffered a 29 percent drop in new orders.
i can’t really DISAGREE with the above comments, but neither of them approached the subject of how the CUSTOMER might feel about the MAX. If I recall correctly the largest single disqualified for military service remains the inability to deploy in military aircraft.
Those of us who enjoy flying tend to forget that 25-30% of people are uncomfortable flyers and ~6-7% can’t bring themselves to fly at all. There will be people - at least initially - who WILL NOT fly in the MAX. With time AND THE LACK OF OTHER ADVERSE EVENTS that MAY change. But we have a 24/7 news cycle and a constant drone of ill-advised company email and messages (“designed by idiots and supervised by monkeys” being my personal favorite) risks depressing load factors for awhile, which gives impetus for at least those who have ordered planes years out to reconsider.
I’m not anti-Boeing although I believe the company needs a major shakeup. But I think those of us who love flying don’t necessarily understand our fellow citizens who are nervous flyers at best. Or the willingness of the media to push those buttons.