Boeing’s commercial aircraft order and delivery figures tumbled last year as the US company worked through a manufacturing crisis that hobbled its operations and struck another reputational blow.
Last year also marked another during which competitor Airbus significantly bested Boeing in new orders received and jets delivered.
“Our focus remains on strengthening safety, quality and stability across our production system,” Boeing said on 14 January in disclosing its 2024 order and delivery figures.
The US manufacturer did, however, close last year on higher note, landing orders during December for 142 aircraft. Among those, Middle East discounter FlyDubai ordered 30 787s, finalising a purchase deal that the airline and Boeing had announced at the Dubai air show in 2023.
Additionally in December, Boeing scored an order from Turkey’s Pegasus Airlines for 100 737 Max, while lessor Altavair ordered one 777-300ER and unidentified customers ordered eight 767 Freighters, Boeing says.
But those deals were offset by the loss due to cancellations of 135 aircraft orders, including for 125 737 Max and 10 787s – all of which had been held by Indian carrier Jet Airways. Boeing finally nixed those agreements from its order book after news that Pegasus started liquidating.
Boeing’s total 2024 orders came to only 569 jets – of which 417 were 737s. That is down from 1,456 orders last year and is Boeing’s lightest tally since 2020, when it was embroiled in fallout from the 737 Max’s 20-month grounding. Boeing’s 2024 order count was also further whittled away by 192 cancellations, leaving it with net new orders for only 377 aircraft.
By comparison, Airbus ended last year having landed new orders for 878 aircraft – reduced due to cancellations to 826 net orders. But Airbus’s order figures were also way down year on year after the European airframer had taken 2,094 net orders in 2023.
Boeing started 2024 in a bind after an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9’s mid-cabin door plug blew out during a flight on 5 January. Investigators quickly traced the cause of the incident to an oversight by workers at Boeing’s Renton assembly facility who failed to secure the four bolts intended to secure the plug.
As a result, and at the insistence of regulators, Boeing hauled back production rates in a race to shore up production quality and safety. Its deliveries also dried up late last year during a 53-day strike by its machinists in the Pacific Northwest that ended in November.
Data show that Boeing delivered just 348 aircraft last year, down from 528 in 2023 and the fewest in one year since 2021.
By contrast, Airbus’s delivery pace ticked up last year. The European airframer handed over 766 jets, just shy of its 770 target. Airbus had delivered 735 aircraft in 2023.
Boeing ended 2024 with 5,595 jets in its backlog, down a tick from 5,626 on year prior. The backlog includes 4,303 737s, 109 767s, 464 777s and 719 787s.
Airbus’s end-2024 backlog stood at 8,658 aircraft, including 516 A220s, 7,210 A320-family jets, 230 A330s and 702 A350s.
