Boeing Customers Scrap Orders Of 150 Max Planes As Pandemic Ruins Air Travel

Boeing buyers last month called off a record 737 Max orders, worsening the crisis facing the company in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and continuing to ground their bestselling aircraft following two deadly accidents.

The Chicago-based jet maker reported 150 cancellations in March of its beleaguered 737 Max aircraft, the most in decades, the firm disclosed.

Brazilian carrier Gol has scrapped 34 of the narrow-body aircraft. Leasing company Avolon will also not continue with its orders for 75 of the planes, a decision it made public this month. Thanks to 31 orders for large-sized commercial and military planes, net cancellations have reached 119 for the month.

The commercial backlog of the aircraft manufacturer was down in the first three months this year by a total of 307 aircraft as it accounted for orders that plane companies are now unlikely to take orders of as they try to survive a major decline in travel as a result of the ongoing global crisis.

The cancelations come as Boeing continues to iron out kinks in production obligations after suspending the MAX's production in January, following delays in flight resumptions.

Because of the pandemic, Boeing, hounded by a 13-month grounding on Max deliveries and now distortions to orders of wide-bodied jets, disclosed it had rolled out 50 planes in the first quarter, just one-third of the 149 seen from the previous year. The figure was the lowest for the first quarter since 1984.

On Wall Street, the company's stocks dropped almost 5 percent early Tuesday after Boeing reported business order and delivery details for the first quarter, including the cancellation of 150 orders for 737 MAX aircraft.

It is now evident that the pandemic has had a major impact on its business, but these figures are new proof that the effect will linger on for quite a while.

Earlier this month, Boeing halted operations at a South Carolina plant where it produces 787 wide-body aircraft, effectively stopping production of commercial aircraft after factories in the Seattle area were briefly shut down due to the pandemic and government restrictions aimed at containing the virus.  The disease has infected over 100 Boeing workers.

Airbus, which also shut down its plants, announced last week that it would slash production by 30 percent of its A320, A330 and A350 jet fleet.

Boeing has yet to outline output reductions, but it announced on April 2 it will aim to minimize its workforce by offering staff buyouts, with chief executive officer David Calhoun citing a need to "start adjusting to a new reality" of a smaller industry after the crisis ends.