At first glance, March was not a bad month for Boeing. The American manufacturer received 31 new orders. However, the majority of these are for military aircraft. The USA ordered eight, South Korea six and New Zealand four Boeing P-8 Poseidon. This is a variant of the 737-800, which is mainly used as a maritime patrol and submarine fighter.
Boeing also sold civil aircraft in March. Fedex Express ordered another Boeing 767-300 ER. In addition, the order from ANA All Nippon Airways for eleven 787-10 and one 787-9, which was announced in February, was also entered in the books. However, it seems to have been reduced by three 787-9 since then. Boeing delivered 20 military and civil aircraft in March.
But the hardest news is further down in the order overview. Boeing customers cancelled no less than 150 Boeing 737 Max in March. Among them are Avolon (75 jets) and Gol (34 jets). There had already been 41 cancellations in February. Apparently the Corona crisis is leading leasing companies and airlines to increasingly do without 737 Max aircraft they had ordered in good times.
All in all, Boeing thus has minus 147 net orders at the end of March. If the uncertain orders are also taken into account, the minus amounts to 307 net orders. Its arch-rival Airbus is up 290 net orders. Both aircraft manufacturers must expect further cancellations in the coming months due to the crisis.
