Boeing’s Q3 deliveries fall on 737 Max grounding

This article is more than 12 months old

Oct 10, 2019 06:00 am

NEW YORK: Boeing reported another steep quarterly drop in commercial plane deliveries due to the grounding of the 737 Max but confirmed it still plans to win approval to get those jets back in the air this year.

The aerospace giant delivered 63 aircraft in its commercial program in the three months ended Sept 30, down from 190 in the year-ago period, Boeing said.

The company disclosed its first new order for a Max jet since the grounding, a single plane to an unnamed "VIP" customer for a business jet.

But the lower delivery figures are the latest demonstration of the hit to the company's finances and prospects because of the Max, which was taken out of service in mid-March following two deadly crashes that killed 346 people.

Boeing has trimmed production of the plane and been forced to store hundreds of new aircraft. The benchmark is closely monitored by Wall Street as a sign of profitability because plane deliveries are closely tied to revenues.

Analysts are projecting much lower 2019 profits for Boeing following the big drop in sales.- AFP