Boeing books 10 orders in January, 737-800s for Ethiopian Airlines

Boeing starts 2010 with 10 orders, all 737-800s

CHICAGO — Boeing Co. reports 10 new aircraft orders for January, all of them for Ethiopian Airlines.

The Chicago-based aircraft maker says the order for its 737-800 planes came in on Jan. 12. About two weeks after the order came in, that airline lost the same type of aircraft in a crash off the coast of Lebanon.

It was Boeing’s slowest January for orders since 2000, when it booked orders for only four planes. The recession has made airlines cautious about ordering aircraft.

Even though it has few new orders, Boeing still has plenty of planes to build. It ended last year with a backlog of 3,375 commercial aircraft.

Boeing says it delivered 28 new planes in January.