I think we all know that 2019 was a rough year for Boeing, though it’s interesting to be able to do a side-by-side comparison of Airbus and Boeing aircraft orders, deliveries, etc.

Boeing aircraft orders & deliveries in 2019

Boeing has reported the details of their aircraft orders for 2019. While this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise due to the 737 MAX, the numbers are really bad. The company has reported the worst net orders in decades, and the fewest plane deliveries in 11 years.

Just how bad was 2019 for Boeing?

• Boeing delivered 380 planes in 2019, a decrease of 53% compared to 2018
• Boeing’s gross orders were 246, a decrease of 77% compared to 2018
• Boeing’s net orders after cancelations and conversions were 54 planes, compared to 893 the previous year
• Boeing’s net total orders after accounting adjustments representing jets ordered in previous years but now unlikely to be delivered were negative 87 planes
• Therefore Boeing’s 2019 book-to-bill ratio (measuring orders against deliveries) came to a negative 0.23

Airbus aircraft orders & deliveries in 2019

Just a few days earlier Airbus revealed their 2019 results, so how did they do by comparison?

• Airbus delivered 863 planes in 2019, an increase of 8% compared to 2018
• Airbus’ gross orders were 1,131
• Airbus’ net orders after cancelations and conversions were 768 planes, compared to 747 the previous year

Bottom line

There’s nothing really surprising here, though the numbers really do reinforce how bad 2019 was for Boeing, especially in comparison to Airbus. Not only were deliveries way down, but orders were way down as well. While they still have a considerable backlog of deliveries, the momentum isn’t there at the moment.

The company will be releasing fourth quarter results on January 29, so I can’t help but wonder just how bad it will be for the company.

It’s believed that Boeing has been losing about $1 billion a month because of the 737 MAX grounding, and the company had $3 billion negative free cash flow in the third quarter of 2019. Of course all of this is only part of Boeing’s problems — they’re also having issues with the 777X, and given the overall situation, new orders have been weak.

Do these numbers from Boeing surprise you?