By Patrick Thomas and Austen Hufford 

Boeing Co. delivered fewer planes in July than in any month for the past decade, furthering the financial blow to the aerospace giant brought by the grounding of its 737 MAX jetliner.

Boeing's deliveries for the year through July totaled 258 planes, down from 417 planes in the same period a year earlier and the smallest number for that time frame since 2007. The 19 planes the Chicago-based company delivered in July was the lowest monthly count since the four deliveries it made in November 2008 during the financial crisis.

Airbus SE shipped 458 planes in the first seven months of this year, putting the European company on track to surpass U.S. rival Boeing as the world's biggest aircraft manufacturer on the year.

Boeing's shares rose 0.7% on Tuesday, and shares in Airbus were up 1.5%.

July was the fifth straight month without any new orders for the 737 MAX, Boeing said Tuesday. The plane has been grounded by regulators around the globe since March following two fatal crashes in less than six months.

The crashes of MAX jets operated by Ethiopian Airlines and Indonesia's Lion Air killed all 346 people on board the two flights. More than 100 lawsuits have been filed against Boeing, and the aerospace giant has been negotiating settlements with victims' families. Meanwhile, it has pledged $100 million in financial support for families and communities impacted by the crashes.

Boeing has said it hopes the 737 MAX will resume flights in the fourth quarter, but some airlines and regulators have said it will take longer for the plane to be cleared pending fixes to its software.

The prolonged grounding is weighing on airlines and Boeing suppliers. Some plane parts makers have cut production, while some carriers have had to cut back on service.

Boeing, whose shares are down nearly 25% from a recent high in March, said it will set aside about $5 billion to compensate airline customers hampered by the MAX's absence.

More than 150 undelivered MAX jets are parked at sites around the U.S., along with the 380 in airlines' hands that were grounded by regulators in March.

Last month Boeing lost an order for 50 MAX planes from a Saudi Arabian budget carrier. Flyadeal said it would instead buy up to 50 A320neo planes from Airbus.

The MAX delivery delays have disrupted flight schedules for airlines, especially in fast-growing aviation markets like Southeast Asia. With their capacity stretched, airlines have delayed plane retirements and cut some routes.

Southwest Airlines Co. sped up its decision to stop flying at New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport because of the grounding of its MAX fleet. American Airlines Group said last month that the Boeing grounding would likely shave $400 million off its earnings in 2019.

Boeing said deliveries through July for the 777 and 787 Dreamliner, were 24 and 90, respectively.

Write to Patrick Thomas at Patrick.Thomas@wsj.com and Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 13, 2019 15:12 ET (19:12 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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