FLEET WATCH: Orders April 2009

Airliner net orders were negative for the month of April for only the second time since the downturn began to bite in mid-2008. There were eight net cancellations for the month as 22 new orders were offset by 30 cancellations. The last monthly net loss came in last October as net orders dropped sharply.

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Middle East’s carrier Gulf Air placed orders for eight Boeing 787s, Turkish Airlines ordered five Boeing 777s while Alaska Airlines ordered four Boeing 737s. Ireland based Lease Corporation International ordered two A330s while ILFC ordered one.

Airbus immerged with one net order for the month as five fresh orders were offset by four cancellations. Boeing was left in minus numbers after booking 17 new orders but suffering 26 cancellations led by 25 for the 787 from undisclosed customers.

Widebody orders totalled 14 minus 28 cancellations largely from the 787. Narrowbody orders totalled 14 minus 12 cancellations for the month. The regional aircraft market remains flat with no orders or cancellations for regional jet or turboprop during April.

Overall, the order backlog for airliners ended April at 8,171, down 118 on the previous month.

Note: The analysis is on aircraft type basis and not on the end user application. For example, Boeing 737 figures might include BBJs. The Bombardier CRJ types are classified as part of the CRJ regional jet family.