Boeing's annual orders surpassed Airbus's orders for the first time since 2018.

(Patria) - Boeing secured orders for nearly 1,200 commercial aircraft last year, surpassing European rival Airbus for the first time since 2018, AFP reported.

The American aviation giant received 175 orders in December, bringing the total for 2025 to 1,173. Airbus revealed net orders of 889 aircraft for the year on Monday.

Boeing still lags behind Airbus in the total number of undelivered aircraft following the fatal crashes of the 737 MAX aircraft in 2018 and 2019, which burdened the American company.

But Boeing also received a boost on Tuesday from an order from Delta Air Lines to purchase thirty Boeing 787 Dreamliners, with options for thirty more wide-body aircraft.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC that the company is the only major US carrier without the popular aircraft, but that he is "confident" in Boeing's efforts under the leadership of Kelly Ortberg, who joined as CEO in 2024.

"As we've seen the progress the team has made, we understand that the turnaround is still underway," Bastian said.

Delta's order was not included in Boeing's 2025 figures.

Progress with the FAA

The improvement in orders marks the latest sign of Boeing's progress after a difficult 2024. Last year began with a near-catastrophic emergency landing on an Alaska Airlines flight in January and ended with the resumption of aircraft production in the Seattle region after a long-term workers' strike.

Following the Alaska Airlines incident, Boeing strengthened its quality control and production operations under the strict supervision of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

In October, the FAA approved Boeing to increase 737 MAX production to 42 per month from 38, a key sign of progress.

"Our team did an excellent job throughout 2025 improving the on-time delivery of safe, high-quality airplanes to our customers, which will support their growth and modernization plans," said Stephanie Pope, head of Boeing's commercial airplanes division. "We are focused on getting better every day and building on the momentum in the coming year."

Boeing stated that it delivered 63 aircraft in December, bringing the total annual number for all of 2025 to 600.

While that figure is the highest since 2018 and a significant jump from the strike-affected 2024 season, it is significantly below the 793 aircraft delivered by Airbus.

Airbus has dominated deliveries in recent years following two crashes of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in 2018 and 2019.

Airbus still holds a significant lead in orders, indicating a backlog of 8,754 at the end of 2025. Boeing currently has 6,720 unfilled orders, with a backlog of 6,130 after adjustments according to US accounting standards.

Morningstar analyst Nicolas Owens said the 2025 result was positive for Boeing but needs to be compared to accumulated orders, which is a "better benchmark," he said.

Boeing surpassing Airbus's orders in 2025 is "good news for Boeing, but it's just one year in a competition for a very large market that has been going on for decades," Owens said.
Boeing shares rose two percent.