Boeing said it could lose a significant number of orders due to geopolitical issues, as the company announced it had removed 141 jets from its backlog.
Of those jets, Boeing says about 90 have been removed due to geopolitical issues caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Removing jets from the backlog does not signal that the order is no longer being filled, but is often used to indicate financial problems with a business.
The fact that these jets are in limbo is likely due to the sweeping sanctions the US and its allies imposed on Russia after the country invaded neighboring Ukraine.
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Boeing still has an order backlog of over 4000 aircraft. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Easy flying
Who loses planes?
Boeing hasn’t disclosed which customers were affected by their orders, but it’s likely airlines with connections to Russia that have been hardest hit.
The manufacturer has received orders for 86 aircraft from Russian companies over the past decade and recently announced that it had 34 undelivered aircraft for Russian airlines.
These were for Utair and Volga-Dnieper. The airline also has seven planes for Ukraine’s SkyUp Airlines, which it has so far been unable to deliver.
The manufacturer will also feel the sting of US sanctions in the form of lost money, as airlines typically pay a significant portion of a plane’s cost when it is delivered.
Boeing isn’t the only company to have had to hold back supplies from Russia. Airbus was recently forced to cancel two A350 orders for Aeroflot due to sanctions against Russia.
Airbus has also been unable to deliver previous orders to Russian airlines. Photo: Arran Rice | Easy flying
How will sanctions affect Russian aviation?
Sanctions from several countries have not only prevented the delivery of new jets to Russia, but also reduced the national carrier’s existing fleet.
The country’s airlines have lost 79 of their commercial aircraft, nearly 10% of their entire fleet.
This is mainly due to sanctions obliging international aircraft leasing companies to repossess their aircraft. This was done with many aircraft that were then outside of Russia.
In response, however, Moscow has “nationalized” aircraft within Russia owned by air leasing companies, making it unclear how those companies will be able to recover their planes.
Western aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus are also unable to supply spare parts to Russian airlines.
Russia has indicated it will attempt to service these planes internally, but without new deliveries, it is unknown how long Western-made jets can fly in Russia without incident.
It is unlikely that many Russian planes will have to leave Russian airspace as a significant number of countries have imposed airspace bans on Russian and Belarusian planes.
The US, EU, UK, Switzerland and Canada are among the countries that have banned Russian flights.
The sanctions were imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. At least 1,892 civilians have been killed and 2,558 injured since the invasion began, according to UN OHCHR. The true number is likely to be much higher.
What do you think of the sanctions against Russia? Let us know in the comments below.
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About the author
Callum Tennant (9 published articles)
Journalist – Callum has written about transport and energy for several travel publications as well as national newspapers. He has a particular passion for aviation and strives to continue building new relationships within the industry to facilitate well-rounded articles that include details, news and key trends. UK based
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