Boeing outsold Airbus last year for first time since 2018, deliveries rise to 600

Boeing logged net orders for 1,173 airplanes last year, marking the first time it outsold its European rival Airbus since 2018, the latest sign of Boeing’s recovery.

Boeing handed over 63 jetliners to customers last month, bringing its annual delivery total to 600 aircraft, the most in seven years, before two deadly crashes and a host of other problems derailed its output. Forty-four of those deliveries were 737 Maxes, Boeing said Tuesday.

Airbus still delivered more aircraft last year than Boeing, with 793, though that sum is below the record 863 airplanes the European manufacturer handed over in 2019. Airbus had 889 net orders for 2025.

Engine and other supply chain issues continue to hold up aircraft deliveries. Deliveries are key for airplane manufacturers because airlines pay the bulk of a jet’s price when they receive the plane.

Boeing’s net orders last month totaled 174 planes, including more than 100 737 Maxes for Alaska Airlines, which the Seattle carrier announced last week. Delta Air Lines earlier Tuesday said it ordered at least 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, its first for the wide-body plane. Deliveries are starting in the early 2030s, a sign of how airlines are locking in delivery slots into the next decade to replace older jets and grow.

Boeing executives are scheduled to discuss the manufacturer’s production plan when the company reports quarterly results on Jan. 27.