(Bloomberg) -- Boeing Co. delivered just 13 jetliners and logged zero sales in October as the company lagged further behind Airbus SE, which posted its best monthly performance during a year roiled by the coronavirus pandemic.
The U.S. planemaker failed to record any new orders for a second straight month, according to data posted on the company’s website Tuesday, days after Airbus said it won 11 while absorbing three cancellations. Airbus handed over five times as many planes as its U.S. rival in October, as Boeing contended with the long grounding of its 737 Max and factory defects afflicting the 787 Dreamliner.
Boeing’s plunging sales and deliveries have worsened record cash outflows, forcing executives to slash jobs and weigh other cuts such as the sale of the jetliner unit’s headquarters south of Seattle. The company handed over just four Dreamliners last month amid stepped-up inspections of their carbon-composite frames. Boeing can’t resume Max shipments until U.S. regulators lift the flying ban -- a decision that could be announced as soon as next week.
For the year, Boeing has recorded just 67 jetliner sales and a net loss of 1,020 orders. About 62% of that total represents deals that are still under contract but are deemed to be in jeopardy under a U.S. accounting measure.
Boeing removed another 37 Max jets from its order book, bringing the total number of sales that have been dropped or are in jeopardy to 1,043. The Max has been grounded since March 2019 after two deadly crashes killed 346 people.
While the pace of canceled deals has slowed from earlier this year, customers have scrapped 448 Max orders, taking advantage of a provision that allows them to exit contracts if deliveries are delayed more than 12 months. Another 595 are at risk under the accounting rule.
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