In a sense, Boeing’s commercial order book for the year so far is perfectly stabilised. The world’s second-largest aircraft manufacturer has 65 new orders on its books and exactly 65 cancellations – leaving it with precisely no net orders for 2009.

The empty order book reflects the dire situation for commercial jet sales in a world of falling demand and hard-to-access credit. Although airlines have been given some relief in lower jet-fuel prices, that has also reduced their need to replace aircraft for efficiency reasons.