Company data released by Boeing this week has revealed the company lost another 12 orders for its currently grounded 737 Max jetliner last month, delivering 13 to customers - down seven from the 20 planes delivers in October 2019.
Boeing 737 Max
Photo: AvgeekJoe / Flickr
For the second consecutive month, Boeing's monthly snapshot showed quality flaws in its 787 Dreamliner as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic hindered its attempts to develop an alternative moneymaker to the 737 Max.
Boeing said that of the 12 lost orders, four came from China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co, three from Oman Air, one from Smartwings, owner of Czech Airlines, and another four came from undisclosed buyers.
There was some good news for Boeing, however, as several reports in the US media reported that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) appears to be close to lifting a safety ban on the 737 Max that was imposed in March 2019 following two deadly crashes.
The first, Lion Air Flight 610, a domestic flight in Indonesia, crashed into the Java Sea less than 15 minutes after takeoff, killing all 189 people on board.
The second, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, Kenya, crashed only six minutes after leaving the ground, killing all 157 passengers and crew.
The 737 Max crashes have widely been accredited to faulty control software. Despite saying it wanted to solve the issues quickly, as it did so, other defects kept appearing. It appears like these issues may have finally been resolved, however.
Last month, the executive director of Europe's top aviation regulator, EASA Patrick Ky, declared that he was satisfied with the changes made to the 737 Max, declaring it safe to return to the skies despite a further upgrade that the Agency demanded unlikely to be ready for up to two years.
“Our analysis is showing that this is safe, and the level of safety reached is high enough for us,” Ky told Bloomberg in an interview. “What we discussed with Boeing is the fact that with the third sensor, we could reach even higher safety levels.”
The lifting of the ban in Europe has nonetheless come with a sting in its tail as the EU officially imposed tariffs of 15% on Boeing aircraft this week, potentially stunting sales across the continent.
The news comes with a backdrop of an aviation industry suffering a crisis of historic proportions as a result of Covid-19 pandemic.
Boeing's main rival, Airbus, sold just 11 jets last month and both companies did not receive a single new order during September, with many suppliers threatened with bankruptcy.
If the company's plans come to fruition, and the 737 Max is airborne again, many observers do not expect the jetliner to be a bestseller again.
Back to Homepage
Back to Aerospace & Defence