Boeing hit by 737 MAX cancellations

Boeing customers have cancelled orders for dozens of 737 MAX planes as a clouded travel outlook due to coronavirus adds to the jet's woes, according to figures released Wednesday.

Shares of the aerospace giant dove further after it reported 43 cancellations for the MAX in 2020 as of the end of February in a monthly update on its website.

The company also experienced a big drop in plane deliveries, which stood at 30 at the end of February, compared with 95 in the year-ago period.

Boeing has said it expects the MAX to receive regulatory approval to resume flights at mid-year, but if that holds, the jet will return at a highly uncertain time for airlines.

Carriers around the world have canceled thousands of flights as the coronavirus effectively shuts down key markets like China and Italy and chills demand generally.

Shares of Boeing plunged 11.9 per cent to UD 203.59, with the orders report adding to another bad day for US stocks more broadly.

Boeing had been down steeply even before the figures following a Bloomberg News story that the company will make use of all of a USD 13.8 billion loan obtained from banks last month.

The MAX has been grounded for the last year after two crashes that killed 346 people, spawning numerous lawsuits and investigations.

On Tuesday, families of victims of the second crash on an Ethiopian Airlines plane commemorated the one-year anniversary of the catastrophe.