Boeing reports no new orders for 737 Max amid grounding

July 9 (UPI) -- Boeing on Tuesday said it received orders for 13 commercial jets during its second quarter, a 95 percent drop compared to the same time period last year after the global grounding of its 737 Max aircraft.

Of those 13 orders, none was for a 737 Max. June was the third straight month of no new orders for the model. Boeing received a letter of intent from International Airlines Group for the purchase of 200 737 Max aircraft earlier this month.

Countries and airlines began grounding the aircraft model in March after investigators determined a link between two 737 Max crashes that left 346 people dead.

Boeing said it delivered 239 aircraft during the first two quarters of the year, a 37 percent drop compared to the first six months of 2018.

Boeing's flagging sales could make Airbus, its direct competitor in single-aisle aircraft, the world's largest airplane manufacturer, CNBC reported.

On Sunday, Saudi airline flyadeal canceled a $5.9 billion order with Boeing for 737 Max plans and made a deal for 30 Airbus A320neo airplanes.

"This order will result in flyadeal operating an all-Airbus A320 fleet in the future," the airline said.

Boeing 737 Max aircraft will remain grounded until the company completes a software fix that addresses issues with its Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, which was linked to the crashes in Indonesia last October and Ethiopia in March.

Boeing's shares were up 0.40 percent as of 2 p.m. Tuesday after a morning dip.