Boeing reports more order cancelations in March

Boeing saw a spike in canceled plane orders in March, due to the travails of the 737 MAX as well as the hit to air travel from COVID-19, the company reported Tuesday.

Orders for 150 MAX planes were annulled last month, half of those from the Irish company Avolon that was previously announced.

Boeing suffered net decline of 307 orders throughout its commercial plane business in the first quarter, even as it continued to add orders for the 787 Dreamliner over the three-month stretch.

The Brazilian company GOL canceled an order for 34 of the MAX aircraft that have been grounded worldwide since March 2019 following two crashes that killed 346 people.

A key test flight of the top-selling 737 MAX has been pushed back by a month to May due to the upheaval of the coronavirus crisis, sources told AFP earlier this month.

The pandemic also has dented the aviation giant's outlook since the lockdowns imposed to contain the virus have brought air travel to a near standstill and badly compromised the company's airline clients.

Boeing delivered just 50 commercial planes in the first three months of the year, only about one-third the number in the year-ago period.

© 2020 AFP