In 2023, Boeing achieved its jetliner delivery targets and saw a 70% increase in net orders, indicating robust demand for air travel and aircraft. Despite this, Airbus maintained its position as the leading planemaker for the fifth consecutive year. Boeing disclosed its annual figures on Tuesday, amidst dealing with an incident involving an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 that lost a fuselage panel mid-flight the previous week.
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Boeing delivered 528 aircraft and secured 1,314 net new orders (after accounting for cancellations) in 2023, an improvement from 480 deliveries and 774 net new orders in 2022, marking its third-best year. It delivered 396 narrowbody 737 jets, meeting its revised target of at least 375 single-aisle planes, but fell short of the initial goal of 400 to 450 jets. This target was reduced in October due to a manufacturing defect by fuselage supplier Spirit AeroSystems, which necessitated plane inspections and slowed down deliveries.
Boeing also delivered 73 787 Dreamliners in 2023, achieving its target of 70 to 80 aircraft. However, Airbus, its European competitor, surpassed Boeing's orders and deliveries. Airbus set industry records for gross and net orders and exceeded its delivery target of 720 airplanes in 2023 with 735 deliveries. Based solely on Airbus figures from January to November, the European planemaker retained its top position for the fifth year.
According to Boeing's full-year data and the 735 Airbus deliveries reported by industry sources, Boeing's market share remained stable at 42%, compared to 50% before the broader grounding of all MAX jets in 2019 due to a previous crisis. Boeing received 1,456 gross orders (or 1,576 net orders after accounting adjustments) for 2023. In December alone, the company recorded 371 gross orders, including a record monthly sale of 301 737 MAX planes. However, Spanish airline Air Europa canceled an order for two Dreamliners. Last month, Boeing delivered 44 737 MAXs, one older-model 737NG, seven 767s, four 777 freighters, and 11 787s. Its order backlog grew from 5,324 to 5,626. Airbus is scheduled to announce its orders and deliveries on Thursday, while Boeing executives are expected to present new targets for 2024 along with the fourth-quarter results on January 31.