Article Posted on : - Nov 12, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP): Boeing had no orders for new airliners in October, its second consecutive month, and orders for 37 of its Max jets came off the books as the company continues to struggle with the grounding of the Max and a pandemic that has crippled the airline industry.

Boeing delivered 13 airliners last month, down from 20 in October 2019. The Chicago company depends on deliveries to generate cash flow.

Rival Airbus had a better month, booking 11 new orders and delivering 72 planes in October.

Both companies have been hurt by the pandemic which has caused air travel to plummet, leaving airlines in financial distress and with little need for new planes.

Boeing last reported a new aircraft order in August. It has failed to record any orders for commercial planes in five of the first 10 months of this year.

Boeing said Tuesday that customers cancelled orders for 12 Max jets in October, and Boeing dropped orders for another 25 Maxes from its backlog because of the financial weakness of the buyers. Boeing's backlog of Max jets has shrunk by more than 1,000 this year.

The Max has been grounded worldwide since March 2019 after two crashes killed a combined 346 people. Boeing expects US safety regulators to approve changes it has made to software, computers and pilot training by year end, clearing the plane to resume flying.