Premium #234 – Has an Economic Downturn for Commercial Aircraft Arrived?

Orders for both narrow-body and wide-body aircraft have slowed dramatically in 2016 after several years of record orders for the industry.  Global economic growth is waning, and carriers have begun to push delivery dates backwards or cancel order for aircraft that are no longer perceived to be needed in the same time frame.

Recent examples include Delta Air Lines pushing back A350 and A330neo deliveries, and LATAM, who from the merger of LAN and TAM have large 787 and A350 orders on the books, respectively, and now deferring deliveries of each type.  Now Southwest is deferring deliveries of 67 Boeing 787 MAX8 aircraft as it rationalizes its fleet plan.