Airbus is on track to overtake Boeing as the world’s biggest planemaker as the US company reported a slump in deliveries of new commercial jet airliner deliveries after two fatal crashes involving the 737 Max.
Boeing, which has led its European rival since 2012, is struggling after safety regulators worldwide grounded its best-selling 737 Max following the Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air disasters that killed 346 people.
Boeing reported 239 commercial plane deliveries in the first half of the year, a 37% fall from 378 in the same period last year, highlighting the extent to which the crashes have damaged its reputation in the market.
(May 22, 2017) Boeing 737 Max enters commercial service
The first Boeing 737 Max begins commercial operations with Malindo Air. Norwegian Air is also an early adopter of the new model, operating transatlantic flights. The model promises fuel efficiencies attractive to carriers.
(October 29, 2018) Lion Air crash
Lion Air flight JT610 crashes after making a sudden, sharp dive into the Java Sea 13 minutes after departing from Jakarta, Indonesia. All 189 people onboard are killed. That particular plane had been in use for less than three months. The plane's black box recorder reveals that the Lion Air plane had experienced problems with its airspeed indicators on its last four flights.
(November 7, 2018) Boeing's new advice
Boeing issues revised instructions on how pilots should react to erroneous readings from “angle of attack” sensors, believed to be a key factor in the Lion Air crash.
(March 10, 2019) Ethiopia Airlines crash
Flight ET302 crashes about six minutes after taking off from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, killing all 157 people onboard. The captain had reported difficulties, and flight radar data shows the aircraft was climbing erratically with an unstable vertical airspeed.
(March 13, 2019) Boeing grounds fleet
The EU, Canada and the US all ground the Boeing 737 Max. Boeing itself issues a statement saying it “continues to have full confidence in the safety of the 737 Max”, but that “out of an abundance of caution and in order to reassure the flying public” it w recommending the grounding of the entire global fleet of 371 aircraft.
(April 4, 2019) Interim report findings
The interim report into the Ethiopian Airlines crash finds that the pilots correctly followed Boeing’s emergency instructions, but were still unable to stop the plane’s nose repeatedly pointing down. The jet hit an airspeed of 500 knots (575mph), well above its operational limits, before cockpit data recordings stopped.
(June 27, 2019) A new potential risk
Airlines extend their ban on using the Boeing 737 Max after the US aviation regulator said it had identified a new potential risk with the plane.
(July 10, 2019) Airbus soars
In the wake of Boeing’s troubles, Airbus seems set to overtake it as the world's biggest planemaker. As Boeing reported 239 commercial plane deliveries in the first half of the year, a 37% fall, rival Airbus shipped 389 deliveries, up 28% on the same period last year.
(July 15, 2019) Name change rumours
Pictures emerge of a Boeing 737 Max due to be delivered to Ryanair with the name 737 Max replaced by 737-8200 on the nose.
(October 30, 2019) Sensor concerns ignored
During congressional hearings into Boeing’s handling of the crisis, lawmakers were shown internal records revealing that three years before the crashes an employee had expressed concern that an anti-stall flight system could be triggered by a single sensor.
(January 10, 2020)
The crisis deepens with the release of hundreds of internal messages between employees working on the 737 Max aircraft, which boasted of deceiving safety regulators and said the plane had been “designed by clowns”.
(February 19, 2020)
Boeing orders inspections of its entire fleet of grounded 737 Max planes after it found foreign object debris in the fuel tanks of some of the mothballed planes.
Rival Airbus has reported 389 deliveries in the first half, up 28% on the same period last year, and is on track to deliver a record number of planes this year, overtaking Boeing for the first time in seven years.
Before the crash, Boeing was delivering planes at a rate of 50 a month in the first quarter. Output has since slumped to only 30 a month in the second quarter. Boeing halted deliveries of the top-selling plane since it was grounded in mid-March.
There are more than 150 undelivered Max planes parked at sites around the US as well as 380 owned by airlines that remain grounded. June was the third month running that Boeing booked no new orders of its Max aircraft. Air regulators are not expected to clear the model to fly again before the end of September as the company continues to work on fixing the aircraft’s flight-control systems.
Airbus has been ramping up the pressure on Boeing by pushing its best-selling A320neo, a direct rival to the Max, and publicly announcing an increase in production.
This week Boeing lost a provisional deal for 50 737 Max planes from flyadeal, the budget arm of Saudi Arabian Airlines, which instead ordered the Airbus rival. The deal, with a value of more than $5.5bn (£4.4bn), is one of the first direct signs that the Max crashes have resulted in business shifting to Boeing’s rival.
However, last month at the Paris air show Boeing was given a shot in the arm when International Airlines Group, the parent of British Airways, signed a “letter of intent” to buy 200 Boeing 737 Max aircraft in the first new sales deal for the passenger jet since it was grounded. The IAG order is yet to be officially booked by Boeing.
