With the Boeing 737 MAX Grounded, Boeing Orders Slow

With the Boeing 737 MAX grounded for more than a year, since March 2019, deliveries of new Boeing airplanes have slowed drastically. Orders are being cancelled as well.

The slowdown cannot be solely attributed to the Boeing 737 MAX grounded from flight. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has hit the airline industry hard since March, with international air networks nearly out of commission due to the dozens of countries that have blocked travel from the U.S., and with domestic travel significantly slowed as well.

Indeed, Boeing made only four commercial airplane deliveries in July—one for FedEx, one for DHL, one for Air France, and one for Turkish Airlines. By contrast, Boeing’s rival airplane manufacturer, Airbus, reportedly delivered 48 airplanes in July.

The number of deliveries slowing down significantly—instead, it’s order cancellations and deferrals that are growing at an alarming rate.

According to The Seattle Times, customers completely cancelled orders for 43 MAXs in July, and more have been cancelled throughout the year—totaling 416 cancellations. It’s not just the cancellations that have had a significant effect on the MAX backlog with the Boeing 737 MAX grounded, however. Deferrals and uncertain orders have affected the numbers as well. In fact, on top of the 416 outright cancellations, an additional 448 orders of MAX aircraft have been removed from the backlog due to uncertainty.

By the end of the July, the firm 737 MAX backlog had been reduced to 3,498, according to Boeing data. Airbus reports that the backlog for its rival jet family sits at 6,065 airplanes.

With the Boeing 737 MAX grounded for now, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a proposed plan for the necessary design changes and procedural updates that could get the plane ungrounded and potentially back in the air with passengers by the end of the year.

Why Was the Boeing 737 MAX Grounded?

So why was the Boeing 737 MAX grounded in the first place? The Boeing 737 MAX was grounded after two major crashes within a few months of each other: Lion Air Flight 610 on Oct. 29, 2018, and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on March 10, 2019. According to ABC News, both crashes killed all of the passengers and crew members on board, totaling 346 deaths.

According to investigators, both crashes were tied to the failure of a software called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). The system was intended to stabilize the aircraft, but a faulty censor fed incorrect data to the software that caused it to misfire and forced the planes to rapidly take a nose dive. Pilots scrambled to react but had a limited amount of time and were being bombarded by confusing alarms and alerts without being able to identify what to do in the chaos.

According to ABC News, the MCAS software was not mentioned in the pilot manual at all.

Filing a Boeing 737 MAX 8 Lawsuit

If you took a domestic flight on Southwest Airlines or American Airlines sometime between Oct. 1, 2017 and March 13, 2019, using a Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, you may be able to file or join a class action lawsuit and pursue compensation. This investigation is looking specifically for those who were flying for personal travel, not business.

Filing a lawsuit can be a daunting prospect, so Top Class Actions has laid the groundwork for you by connecting you with an experienced attorney. Consulting an attorney can help you determine if you have a claim, navigate the complexities of litigation, and maximize your potential compensation.

Join a Free Boeing 737 Max 8 Lawsuit Investigation

If you took a domestic flight on Southwest Airlines or American Airlines between Oct. 1, 2017 and March 13, 2019 and your flight was on a Boeing MAX 8 aircraft, you may be eligible to join the Boeing MAX 8 class action lawsuit investigation.

Only personal travel, not business travel, is relevant to this investigation.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.