Boeing turnaround takes hold with highest annual jet deliveries since 2018

SEATTLE, Jan 13 (Reuters) – Boeing bounced back in 2025 to deliver the most planes since 2018 and to beat European rival Airbus in net orders for the first time in seven years in a sign of a turnaround at the U.S. planemaker after a series of crises.

Deliveries jumped by 72% to 600 aircraft in 2025, Boeing said on Tuesday, though it lagged the 793 at Airbus. Boeing also booked 1,175 new orders, or a net total of 1,075 after cancellations. It was Boeing’s sixth-highest annual total adjusted for cancellations and it topped Airbus’ 889 net orders.

Boeing has been trying to improve its image and win a race for narrow-body plane orders with Airbus under CEO Kelly Ortberg. Since 2018, two plane crashes, the COVID-19 pandemic, factory strikes and a mid-air panel blowout disrupted Boeing’s production and deepened its debt.

The company expects positive cash flow in 2026, lifted by higher deliveries of its commercial jets, Boeing’s finance chief said last month.

The U.S. planemaker delivered 63 jets in December, the most in a month since 2023. The total included 44 of its best-selling 737 MAX jets and 14 787s. 

In 2025, the company delivered 440 737 MAX jets and 88 787s. That is the most 787 Dreamliner deliveries since 2019, when Boeing handed over 158 of the popular wide-body jetliner. 

Demand for 787s has surged in recent years. Boeing booked 368 Dreamliner orders after cancellations last year, second only to the 369 orders it received in 2007, the first year it offered the plane. 

Delta Air Lines said on Tuesday that it would buy 30 Boeing 787-10 aircraft to strengthen its long-haul fleet. It was not clear if those orders were placed this year or in 2025.

STRONG ORDER BOOK

Boeing’s booming order book is a vote of confidence from airlines and aircraft lessors that the company’s turnaround is real, said Scott Hamilton, an aerospace analyst and consultant with Leeham Co.

Boeing also can deliver new single-aisle jets sooner than Airbus, which has a larger backlog, he said.  

At an event in Seattle last week, Alaska Airlines announced orders it finalized in December for five 787s and 105 737-10s, the largest of the MAX variants. Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci said he was confident Boeing would certify the long-delayed narrow-body jet this year.

Analysts and airlines will be closely watching for progress on certifying the MAX 10, said George Ferguson, a senior aerospace analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. 

As Boeing continues to improve production quality and put the turmoil of recent years behind it, Ferguson said the company could again beat Airbus in new orders in 2026.

(Reporting by Dan Catchpole in Seattle; Editing by Jamie Freed)