Boeing Company said Thursday its customers ordered only 142 commercial airplanes last year, as the recession forced most airlines to shrink. The net total was Boeing"s lowest since at least 2003 and just one-tenth of the 1,413 orders in 2007. Meanwhile, Boeing said it delivered 481 commercial airplanes last year, up 28 percent after a crippling labor strike in 2008 slowed production. The biggest selling model was Boeing"s 737 jetliner, of which the company sold 372 in 2009 and has orders to produce another 2,076. Boeing"s total backlog for commercial aircraft is 3,375 airplanes. The biggest issue for the company has been its 787 Dreamliner, a new widebody long-range airplane that flew for the first time last month-more than two years behind schedule. There were no more 787 cancellations in December, and Boeing finished the year with 83 net cancellations. The company said it has orders for 851 of the airplanes, and it expects to begin deliveries by the end of 2010.
