In January, Boeing won no new airplane orders and delivered just 13 jets.
While January is typically a very slow month for both Airbus and Boeing as they take a breath after the always-frenetic pace of jet orders and deliveries at the end of the year, this opening month for 2020 — in the midst of the 737 MAX crisis — is a new low.
Airbus by comparison had a big order month, winning net orders for 274 commercial aircraft. The European jetmaker also delivered 31 aircraft, a typically low January output, though it looks large compared to Boeing’s figure.
The Airbus sales tally included two big orders from the U.S.
Low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines ordered 100 of the A320neo family that competes directly with the 737.
And the influential Los Angeles-based lessor Air Lease Corp. ordered 102 aircraft, including 50 A220-300s, the former Canadian CSeries jet that Boeing tried unsuccessfully to block from sales in the U.S. Also in the order were 27 A321XLRs, the new long-range version of the A321neo that is building sales in the “middle of the market” segment where Boeing has pulled back on its plan to launch a new airplane.