Aircraft Deliveries Nosedive, Global Passenger Demand Unlikely To Recover Before End of  2023

Boeing delivers just 20 aircraft in second quarter; Global air passenger demand will take up to the end of 2023 to recover, says Moody’s

It was bad enough that the 737 MAX scandal saw Boeing deliveries sliced by half in 2019 due to the grounding of its flagship airliner.

Latest figures released up to June 30, 2020 show that the US aircraft major delivered just 20 commercial aircraft in the second quarter of 2020 and the total deliveries in the first six months of 2020 stood at 70. Compare that with the 239 airplanes it delivered in the first half of 2019.

"Our commercial airplane deliveries in the second quarter reflect the significant impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our customers and our operations that included a shutdown of our commercial airplane production for several weeks," said Greg Smith, Boeing's CFO.

Neither has Airbus been spared by the pandemic. Airbus delivered 196 airplanes in the first six months of 2020 and is staring at coming nowhere near the total of 863 aircraft it delivered in 2019.

The COVID-19 pandemic which led to the grounding of aircraft worldwide and travel restrictions, that have only recently started easing out, has left the airline industry with damaging losses, forcing major cancellations and postponements of aircraft orders.

Airlines are expected to post a loss of $84.3 billion in 2020, according to the International Air Transport Association. In terms of passenger demand, in June overall bookings were down 82% year-on-year compared to June 2019.

“Financially, 2020 will go down as the worst year in the history of aviation. On average, every day of this year will add $230 million to industry losses”, IATA’s Director General and CEO,” Alexandre de Juniac had said while releasing the figures.

Meanwhile, a Moody’s Investors Service report said that global air passenger demand will take up to the end of 2023 to recover to pre-pandemic levels.

“With an effective coronavirus vaccine likely not available before well into 2021 – and likely longer to cover potential mutations of the virus and to ensure adequate dosage supply for the masses – additional government support will be required for the airline industry if employment levels are to be maintained near already reduced levels, and potentially to stave off additional airline restructurings and insolvency proceedings”, Moody’s said.