The latest figures about aircraft production come from ADS, a U.K. based air lobby group, according to The Guardian. The industry body reports that, globally, just 88 new passenger aircraft were delivered to customers during July 2019, a figure significantly down on the same period one year ago. The reason for this is attributed to a fall in production of single-aisled aircraft like the 737.
The Boeing 737 Max is the fourth generation of the Boeing 737, and the first flight took place in 2016. The basic model, the Max 7, costs around $100 million. Aircraft regulatory authorities around the world have grounded the aircraft series until further notice, with U.S. authorities being the last to do so.
The reason for the 737’s suspension relates to two accidents. The first was on October 29, 2018, when Lion Air Flight 610 on route flight from Jakarta, Indonesia to Pangkal Pinang, Indonesia, crashed into the sea thirteen minutes after take-off, with 189 people on board the aircraft. The second incident occurred on March 10, 2019, when Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on route from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Nairobi, Kenya, crashed six minutes after take-off, killing all 157 people aboard.
Globally the number of passenger aircraft delivered to customers is 716 (August 2108 to July 2019), which is far lower compared with previous years and the the total number forecast for the end of 2019 has dropped from 1,789 to 1,489.
As well as the issues surrounding the Boeing 737, the chief executive of the ADS group, Paul Everitt, is also blaming the uncertainty around Brexit as damaging European sales. The risk of no deal is also threatening Airbus production in the U.K., with the company signalling that it may cease production and relocate to mainland Europe.
