Four months after federal regulators grounded Boeing’s fleet of 737 MAX aircraft, the aerospace giant continues to deal with the fallout from a pair of fatal crashes involving the planes, reporting no new orders of the embattled jets and a drop in commercial plane shipments.
The Chicago-based company saw a decline in aircraft deliveries for the first six months in 2019, with 239 commercial airplanes shipped during that time frame, according to figures released by Boeing on Tuesday. Deliveries of Boeing’s commercial aircraft fell 37% from the first half of 2018 to the first half of 2019.
Boeing has not seen any new orders of its 737 MAX for three straight months now, an about-face for what was the company’s best-selling plane. The issues, however, have proven to be a boon for rival airplane maker Airbus, which delivered 389 jets in the first half of the year, a 28% boost from the previous year.
Following the lead of international regulators, the Federal Aviation Administration removed the 737 MAX from commercial service in mid-March after the planes were involved in two crashes that killed all 346 passengers on board. An investigation revealed the link between the two incidents was an issue with the anti-stall system in the 737 MAX.
Boeing went to work on a software fix after the crashes and the patch was completed last month. While the completion brought the jets closer to returning to the skies, the grounding has continued to snarl summer travel schedules for airlines, which have been forced to cancel flights.
The aerospace giant also cut production of the 737 MAX to 42 jets per month, down from 52.
