Boeing loses more 737 MAX orders, considers Jet’s return to US, but EU tariffs loom

Boeing Co lost 12 more orders for its grounded 737 MAX airliner in October and delivered 13 planes to customers, up from 20 planes delivered the same month a year ago, the company data showed on Tuesday.

For the second month in a row, the closely watched monthly snapshot revealed quality flaws in the 787 Dreamliner and the coronavirus pandemic continued to hamper Boeing’s efforts to develop an alternative cash cow to the 737 MAX.

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The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) emerged about a week before a March 2019 safety ban was lifted, although the pandemic has continued to hammer demand for jets from Boeing and its European rival Airbus .

Airbus sold 11 jets last month and booked 72 jet deliveries, allaying concerns about an overhang of unwanted cash flow depletion.

The European Union’s decision to impose 15% tariffs on Boeing jets this week could hamper its jet deliveries to Europe.

Boeing said it lost orders for four 737 MAX jets from China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co, one from the owner of Czech Airlines Smartwings, three from Oman Air and four from one or more undisclosed buyers.

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MAX orders canceled, including those where buyers converted to a different model, were 448 jets – and 460 for all jets in Boeing’s portfolio, Boeing said.

From 2020 to October, the number of MAX orders canceled or removed from Boeing’s official order book when applying stricter accounting standards, stood at 1,043 aircraft.

For deliveries – a key metric since customers hand over most of the money by the time they pick up a new aircraft – Boeing delivered 13 twin-aisle jets in October, up from 20 a year earlier and 10 in September.

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This brings the total deliveries to 111 aircraft in the 10 months to October 2020, up from 321 for the same period a year ago.

The October delivery tally included one P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, one 747 and three 767 freighters at United Parcel Service, two 777 freighters at China Cargo Airlines, one 777 at German logistics company DHL and one 777-300ER to Novus, headquartered in Dubai. Aviation Capital, Boeing said.

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Boeing also delivered four 787s in October: a 787-8 to American Airlines, a 787-9 to rental giant AerCap, a 787-10 to Etihad Airways of Abu Dhabi and a 787-10 Saudi Arabian Airlines.

(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; editing by Jane Wardell and David Gregorio)