Boeing Sets New Airplane Delivery Records, Expands Order Backlog
Boeing delivered 69 737 airplanes in December and set a new annual record of 806 deliveries in 2018, surpassing its previous record of 763 deliveries in 2017.
Even as Boeing delivered more jetliners, the company again grew its significant order book with 893 net orders, including 203 airplane sales in December.
“Boeing raised the bar again in 2018 thanks to our teammates’ incredible focus on meeting customer commitments, and continuously improving quality and productivity,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and chief executive officer Kevin McAllister. “In a dynamic year, our production discipline and our supplier partners helped us build and deliver more airplanes than ever before to satisfy the strong demand for air travel across the globe.”
With a seven-year order backlog, Boeing increased production of the popular 737 in the middle of 2018 to 52 airplanes per month.
Nearly half of the year’s 580 737 deliveries were from the more fuelefficient and longer-range MAX family, including the first MAX 9 airplanes.
At the same time, Boeing continued to build the 787 Dreamliner at the highest production rate for a twin-aisle airplane to support high demand for the super-efficient jet. The Dreamliner programme finished with 145 deliveries for the year.
Deliveries of various 777, 767 and 747-8 models rounded out the total of 806 airplanes for the year. 767 deliveries include the transfer of 10 767-2C aircraft to Boeing Defense, Space & Security for the U.S. Air Force KC-46 tanker programme. On the orders front, Boeing achieved sales success across its airplane portfolio with 893 net orders valued at US$143.7 billion (FJ$305bn) according to list prices. While growing the order backlog for nearly every programme, the company showed particular strength in the twin-aisle category with 218 widebody orders last year. The 787 Dreamliner extended its status as the fastest-selling twinaisle jet in history with 109 orders last year or about 1,400 since the programme launched. 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 programme 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 programme achieved 675 net orders, including sales to 13 new customers.
“We are honored that customers around the world continued to vote for the unmatched capabilities of Boeing’s airplane and services portfolio.
“In addition to the ongoing de- mand for the 737 MAX, we saw strong sales for every one of our twin-aisle airplanes in a ringing endorsement of their market-leading performance and efficiency,” said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of Commercial Sales and Marketing for The Boeing Company.
“More broadly, another year of healthy jet orders continues to support our long-term forecast for robust global demand that will see the commercial airplane fleet double in 20 years,” said Mounir.