Boeing has posted a dramatic sales rebound for commercial aircraft in 2010 as the airline market recovered from the two-year, global recession.
Net sales rose from 142 in 2009 to 530 aircraft a year later, with overall orders dominated by the 737 next generation family.
But Boeing's overall sales still remain far below the historic, four-year run of 1,000-plus aircraft orders posted from 2004 through 2007. After the recession struck credit markets near the end of 2007, Boeing's aircraft sales dropped to a then-low 662 orders in 2008.
The latest figures show Boeing's sales campaign still has not rebounded to the heady days before 2008. Nor has the company's orders achieved a healthier balance between narrow- and widebody aircraft sales.
Of the 530 net orders in 2010, only 49 sales came from widebody programmes, with 46 orders for 777s and 3 for 767s. The 787 and 747 programmes posted net declines for new orders in 2010 due to cancellations. Meanwhile, the 737 family accounted for 486 aircraft sales last year.
Boeing's gross orders, not counting cancellations, totalled 625 aircraft last year. The company's overall backlog grew by 68 aircraft to 3,443, or roughly eight years of lead-time at current production rates. Boeing delivered a total of 462 aircraft last year.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
