Max crisis and pandemic wipe nearly 1,250 737s from Boeing’s backlog since January 2020

Since the start of 2020, cancellations and accounting adjustments pushed Boeing’s 737 Max backlog down by some 1,250 aircraft, erasing 28% of the 737 orders Boeing held in January 2020.

Boeing has landed some new Max orders since the 2019 grounding, but those have not offset the 675 Max cancellations Boeing received in the January 2020 to February 2021 period. The majority of those came from aircraft lessors, but major 737 Max airline customers also scrubbed orders for the twinjet.

Boeing has removed another roughly 570 Max from its backlog since January last year to comply with accounting standards. Although the manufacturer still holds contracts to sell those jets, it has less confidence the deals will close due to factors that include the financial condition of customers.

Chicago-based Boeing ended February 2021 with 3,236 737s in its backlog, all of them Max save orders for 41 737NG-based P-8 military surveillance jets. The backlog is down from 4,398 at the end of 2019, according to the airframer’s data.