Boeing deliveries soar past Airbus for the first time in years, but this is no time to unbuckle your seat belt
Supply chain and engineering woes keep the supply of new planes sputtering
Boeing has delivered more commercial planes in a quarter than Airbus for the first time in seven years.
The two aviation giants dominate the market for large passenger aircraft, and for most of the 2010s Boeing delivered more planes than Airbus. In early 2018, Boeing triumphantly announced it set an industry record by shipping 763 planes in the previous year.
Then came Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, 737 Max flights that both crashed due to faulty software, claiming 346 lives. Airlines grounded their 737 Max fleets and Boeing stopped making the model while it ironed out lethal flaws. Boeing later made a billion-dollar settlement with the families of the deceased who travelled on the two flights.
Amid the scandal, the American aviation giant’s deliveries tumbled to 380 in 2018.
Airbus has shipped more planes in each quarter and full year than Boeing ever since.
Until the first quarter of 2026, during which Boeing on Monday said it shipped 143 planes. Airbus data says it sent 114 new planes down the runway and into airline fleets.
Boeing built 114 737s, six 767s, eight 777s and 15 787s. Airbus delivered 19 of its A-220 regional jets, 81 A320s, three A330s and eight A350s.
Both plane-makers have thousands of aircraft on back-order.
Boeing’s quarterly win isn’t necessarily a sign it has regained air supremacy. The company last month warned production of the 737 will slow while it sorts out wiring issues. NASA is also grumpy with Boeing after its Starliner space capsule was deemed unsafe while docked at the International Space Station.
Airbus, meanwhile, is in a funk because its key engine supplier Pratt & Whitney is busy fixing around 1,200 engines that contain a manufacturing flaw. While Pratt & Whitney sorts that out, it’s slowed production of new engines. Airbus can therefore build planes to the point at which they need engines, so the company has a backlog of aircraft that it can’t deliver until their power plants show up.
The two companies will renew hostilities next year when Boeing delivers the 777X, a long overdue competitor for the A350.
Airbus is not sitting still, and last week rolled out the first Ultra Long Range A350 that Australian airline Qantas will use for non-stop flights from the land down under to New York or London. Both flights will last over 20 hours. Qantas has designed a cabin that contains many fewer seats than A350s used on shorter routes to make the journey bearable. Fares on the non-stop flights will come at a premium as they will shave three or four hours off current travel times. ®