After its 737 MAX crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, Boeing Co. ramped up production and deliveries of jets. However, the company still falls behind Airbus SE, the leading jetliner manufacturer in the world.
In 2022, Boeing boosted deliveries by 41% compared to the previous year. According to Boeing commercial-airplanes chief Stan Deal, his company worked hard last year on the production of the MAX, its best-selling model, which resumed flights in the U.S. in 2020 after a two-year hiatus.
Last year, Boeing also resumed deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner, which were halted for nearly two years due to production defects and regulatory issues.
As the airline industry expands its recovery, we are seeing strong demand across our product family.
Stan Deal, Boeing Commercial-Airplanes Chief
Airbus increased its annual deliveries by only 8%. However, the jetliner maker has been producing large amounts of planes at a much faster pace than Boeing.
On Tuesday, Airbus said that it delivered 661 aircraft in 2022. In comparison, Boeing delivered 480 commercial jets, falling behind Airbus for the fourth consecutive year.
I’m happy to report four consecutive years of leadership, and I do look forward to making it five in the coming year.
Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer
The success of Airbus comes after decades of Boeing’s dominance of the commercial aircraft market. That changed after the crashes of Boeing’s 737 MAX jets, which marked the beginning of the most severe crisis in Boeing history.
Following the two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019, the 737 MAX model was grounded for nearly two years. Flights of the 737 model resumed in 2020 in the U.S.; however, supply-chain bottlenecks have hindered Boeing’s production of new 737 MAX planes.
Meanwhile, Airbus has rapidly expanded the production of its rival A320neo jet. At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Airbus pushed airlines to take aircraft on order despite the halt of global travel. Thanks to this strategy, the company was able to rapidly boost production as travel restrictions were lifted and airlines started requesting new aircraft.
Airbus is currently sold out through 2029 on its A320neo model.
