Boeing has revealed the number of commercial aircraft deliveries that it has made during the first quarter of 2020. Amid the downturn in flight activity, only 50 orders were fulfilled during this period.

Another decline

The Chicago outfit announced within a press release. Q1 2019 deliveries were down from the year before amid the 737 MAX crisis, which forced the narrowbodies to be grounded to this day. The firm handed over 149 commercial aircraft this time last year. However, only a third of this result has been achieved so far this year.

There were 89 737s delivered during last year's first quarter. With Boeing working hard to get the aircraft cleared to return to the skies, it is no surprise to see such a small amount of deliveries this time around. It had also lost 150 orders for the jet in March. Therefore, the MAX saga is likely to also bring down results in future quarterly reports through the rest of 2019.

Southwest boeing 737 max grounded getty images
Around half of the airline's fleet is grounded. Photo: Getty Images

Which aircraft were delivered?

There were just five 737s delivered in this year's first quarter. The rest of the fulfilled orders are all widebody aircraft. Ten 767s had made their way to join other companies across the globe alongside six 777s. The most deliveries made were for 787 Dreamliners, with 29 units shipped.

Boeing 787 windows
The 787's dimmable windows are just one of several features appreciated by passengers on long-haul trips. Photo: Getty Images

There were no deliveries of the beloved 747, which is becoming increasingly being phased out by major carriers. KLM recently retired the Queen of the Skies from its fleet, and other airlines such as Qantas are planning to do the same soon.

KLM, Boeing 747, Reactivated
KLM retired its 747s from passenger service in late March. Photo: Getty Images

More tough times ahead

Altogether, with around 75 percent of flights suspended, airlines are continuously trying to defer deliveries. Even if services slowly start to resume again over the next few months, it could take a while before carriers see the same positive passenger numbers that existed before the downturn.

Additionally, governmental policies have forced both Boeing and Airbus to temporality stop production at many of their sites. Therefore, there could be low delivery numbers for manufacturers across the remaining quarters.

The whole aviation industry is facing struggles amid the lack of demand and strict flight restrictions.

Just like airlines, manufacturers are also facing the financial brunt of the lack of activity. Boeing will be hoping that support from the United States government will help it tide over until business picks up again. Moreover, last year, several airlines were frustrated not to receive new aircraft sooner. Now, most of them are not in any rush to take them on.

Simple Flying reached out to Boeing for comment on its first-quarter deliveries but did not hear back before publication. We will update the article with any further announcements.

What are your thoughts on Boeing's first-quarter deliveries? Do you expect the downward trend to continue throughout the year? Let us know what you think in the comment section.