Boeing beat rival Airbus for new jet orders and recorded a seven-year high in jet deliveries in 2025, as the company shows signs of a gradual turnaround following years of safety crises and production quality issues.
The US plane maker ended the year with 1,173 net orders – including cancellations, conversions and accounting adjustments – making 2025 its fifth highest year for net orders, Boeing said on Tuesday. This comes after it secured 174 net orders in December.
Boeing beat Airbus' tally of 1,000 gross orders last year and a net order total of 889, after cancellations. That means Boeing secured more aircraft orders than its European rival for the first time this decade.
The US company last year also delivered 600 aircraft, its highest annual total since 2018, when it handed over 806 planes to customers.
However, Boeing still lags behind Airbus in terms of deliveries. The European plane maker handed over 793 units last year, up 4 per cent on 2024 and inching past its recently revised goal of about 790 jets per year.
Boeing's deliveries were dominated by the 737 family of narrow-body aircraft. The 600 deliveries included 447 of the 737 family of jets, including 440 of the Max model, as well as 88 787 Dreamliners, 30 767s and 35 777s. In December, it delivered 63 planes.
"Our team did great work throughout 2025 to improve the on-time delivery of safe, quality airplanes to our customers to support their growth and modernisation plans," Stephanie Pope, president and chief executive of Boeing's commercial airplanes unit, said in an internal memo to employees. "We’re focused on getting better every day."
Boeing's strong performance on new aircraft orders comes after US President Donald Trump supported deals with foreign airlines from South Korea to Qatar, which often coincided with official state visits.
Both Boeing and Airbus are grappling with a supply chain that is still weakened by the Covid-19 pandemic five years ago, leading to delayed deliveries – much to the growing frustration of their airline customers.
