Boeing 737 MAX cancellations mount amid production halt

(Reuters) – Boeing Co on Tuesday reported another 75 cancellations for its 737 MAX jetliner in March, as the coronavirus crisis worsens disruptions from the grounding of its best-selling jet.

The U.S. planemaker posted a total of 150 MAX cancellations in March, including 75 previously reported from Irish leasing company Avolon.

New cancellations came from buyers including 34 of 135 aircraft ordered by Brazil’s GOL .

The cancellations come as Boeing seeks to untangle delivery commitments after halting output of the MAX in January, following delays in returning it to service.

Boeing, facing a 13-month-old freeze on deliveries of the MAX and now disruption to deliveries of larger planes due to the coronavirus epidemic, said it had delivered 50 planes in the first quarter, nearly a third of the 149 seen a year earlier.

The company posted orders in March for 12 787 Dreamliners, one 767 freighter and 18 pre-MAX versions of the 737 for the P-8 maritime patrol program. For the first quarter, it posted 49 new orders, or a negative total of 147 after cancellations.

After further accounting adjustments representing jets ordered in previous years but now unlikely to be delivered, Boeing’s adjusted net orders sank to a negative 307 airplanes.

(Reporting by Rachit Vats, David Shepardson and Tim Hepher; Editing by Maju Samuel)