Airbus to become world’s biggest plane maker as Boeing’s deliveries plunge over 737 MAX disaster

American aircraft manufacturer Boeing has reported a 37 percent drop in deliveries for the first half of the year due to the prolonged grounding of its best-selling 737 MAX jets after two deadly crashes.

The company supplied 239 planes from January through June, compared to 378 jets in the same period of 2018.

Deliveries for the second quarter of 2019 were down 54 percent from the same period last year, to 90 aircraft.
Analysts say the company’s full-year deliveries are likely to fall behind its European rival Airbus for the first time in eight years.

Airbus on Tuesday reported 389 deliveries in the first six months of the year, up 28 percent from the same period in 2018. The rival plane maker has also recorded 213 orders, about double what Boeing reported.

A few airlines have shown confidence in Boeing’s once best-selling 737 MAX jet since the fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, which killed 346 people. The aircraft has been grounded by a number of global airlines since March.

READ MORE: Airbus steals Paris Air Show with twice as many new plane orders than Boeing

On Monday, Saudi Arabian budget carrier Flyadeal canceled an order of 50 Boeing 737 Max jets worth up to $5.9 billion in favor of a deal with Airbus.

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It’s become the first airline to officially cancel its order since the MAX grounding.

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