Boeing, Airbus Both Had Record Deliveries in 2018
Boeing delivered 806 commercial jets during the year and has a seven-year backlog of orders. Airbus delivered 800, and its backlog stood at 7,577 aircraft at the end of 2018.
Boeing announced that it set a new annual record of 806 commercial jet deliveries during 2018, surpassing its previous record of 763 deliveries in 2017. Airbus announced a day later, Jan. 9, that it, too, set a new record with 800 commercial aircraft delivered during 2018, beating its previous record of 718 units in 2017.
Both companies touted their backlog of orders. Boeing grew its significant order book with 893 net orders and has a seven-year order backlog, while the Airbus backlog stood at 7,577 aircraft at the end of 2018.
"Despite significant operational challenges, Airbus continued its production ramp-up and delivered a record number of aircraft in 2018. I salute our teams around the globe who worked until the end of the year to meet our commitments," said Guillaume Faury, president of Airbus Commercial Aircraft. "I am equally pleased about the healthy order intake as it shows the underlying strength of the commercial aircraft market and the trust our customers are placing in us. My gratitude goes out to all of them for their ongoing support. As we look to further increase our industrial efficiency, we will continue making the digitalization of our business a key priority."
"Boeing raised the bar again in 2018 thanks to our teammates' incredible focus on meeting customer commitments and continuously improving quality and productivity," said Kevin McAllister, Boeing Commercial Airplanes' president and CEO. "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."
Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of Commercial Sales & Marketing for The Boeing Company, said the 2018 performance "continues to support our long-term forecast for robust global demand that will see the commercial airplane fleet double in 20 years."