Boeing said yesterday (8 January) that it set a new annual record of 806 deliveries in 2018, surpassing its previous record of 763 deliveries in 2017.
Chief rival Airbus also said yesterday that it achieved 800 commercial aircraft deliveries in 2018, subject to the finalisation of the auditing process. It will give a full breakdown today.
With a seven-year order backlog, Boeing said it increased production of the 737 in the middle of 2018 to 52 aircraft per month. Nearly half of the year’s 580 737 deliveries were from the more fuel-efficient and longer-range MAX family, including the first MAX 9. It delivered 69 737 aircraft in December alone.
At the same time, Boeing continued to build the 787 Dreamliner at the highest production rate for a twin-aisle aircraft. The Dreamliner program finished with 145 deliveries for the year. Deliveries of various 777, 767 and 747-8 models rounded out the total of 806 aircraft for the year.
On the orders front, Boeing achieved sales success across its aircraft portfolio with 893 net orders valued at $143.7 billion according to list prices. While growing the order backlog for nearly every program, the company showed particular strength in the twin-aisle category with 218 widebody orders last year. Boeing gained 203 aircraft sales in December alone.
The 787 Dreamliner gained 109 orders last year. Highlights include Hawaiian Airlines switching from the Airbus A330 to the 787 and Turkish Airlines becoming a new customer. American Airlines and United Airlines added to the growing list of repeat Dreamliner purchases with 47 and 13 additional jets respectively.
The 777 family continued its steady sales momentum with 51 net orders in 2018, driven by sales of the 777 Freighter to DHL Express, FedEx Express, ANA Cargo, Qatar Airways and other major freight operators. With additional sales in December, the 777 program exceeded 2,000 orders since its launch.
The 737 MAX family also achieved a major sales milestone in December, surpassing 5,000 net orders with 181 new sales during December. For the full year, the 737 program achieved 675 net orders, including sales to 13 new customers.
