Boeing announced it has delivered 481 airplanes in 2009, but the recession and accompanying airline crisis fueled a collapse in new sales orders. The airframe manufacturer won 263 gross orders last year, but the total was reduced by 121 cancellations for a net total of 142 new orders for the year, the lowest number of orders since 1994, according to spokesman Jim Proulx. In stark contrast, Boeing received 662 net orders in 2008 and an all-time record of 1,413 net orders in 2007.

The 2009 cancellations included 83 canceled orders for the 787 Dreamliner, which finally took flight at the end of the year, over two years behind its original schedule.

Randy Tinseth, Boeing vice president of marketing for commercial airplanes, attributed the drop to the decline in air traffic for passengers and freight saying “the order numbers reflect the challenges of the market”. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates airlines worldwide will have lost a total of US$11 billion in 2009.

Saying, “2010 will be another challenging year in the marketplace,” Tinseth said the year ahead will see continued low sales volumes and reduced production rates in line with slumping demand.