Boeing deliveries halved in first 11 months of 2019

Boeing 737 MAX

REUTERS: Boeing delivered less than half as many planes in the first 11 months of 2019 as in the same period a year earlier, the planemaker said on Tuesday, as it continued to struggle with the grounding of its best-selling 737 MAX jets.

Deliveries totalled 345 aircraft in the 11 months ended November, compared to 704 last year and were also less than half the number delivered by European rival Airbus in the same period.

Customers typically pay over the bulk of the money for a new jetliner on delivery, making it a crucial metric for the world's big two jetliner producers. The company did see a boost in orders around last month's Dubai airshow, bringing the number of orders net of cancellations or conversions this year to 56 at the end of November from 45 a month earlier.

After an accounting adjustment, Boeing's net total for orders this year improved marginally to -84 airplanes from -95 a month earlier.

The orders included what Boeing called a “conversion” by China Aircraft Leasing Group of 8 MAX orders into two 787 Dreamliners.