Boeing sales tumble as firm gets no orders for 737 Max for second month

Boeing received orders for only four new planes in May and for the second straight month, none for its best-selling 737 Max, as fallout continues from the blowout of a side panel on a Max during a flight in January.

The results released Tuesday compared unfavourably with Europe's Airbus, which reported orders for 27 new planes in May.

Boeing also saw Aerolineas Argentinas cancel an order for a single Max jet, bringing its net sales for the month to three.

The dismal results followed poor figures for April, when Boeing reported seven sales none of them for the Max.

Boeing hopes that the slow pace of orders reflects a lull in sales before next month's Farnborough International Airshow, where aircraft deals are often announced.

But the Federal Aviation Administration is capping Boeing's production of 737s after a door plug blew out from an Alaska Airlines Max, allegations by whistleblowers that Boeing has taken shortcuts to produce planes more quickly, and reports of falsified inspection records on some 787 Dreamliner jets.

Boeing, based in Arlington, Virginia, delivered 24 jetliners in May, including 19 Max jets. Ireland's Ryanair got four and Alaska Airlines took three. Airbus said it delivered 53 planes last month.

Despite the slow pace of recent sales, Boeing still has a huge backlog of more than 5,600 orders.