Airbus beats Boeing with record jet orders for fifth year

European planemaker Airbus reported record annual jet orders, maintaining the top manufacturing spot against rival Boeing for a fifth year. Airbus said it had won 2,319 gross orders and 2,094 net orders after cancellations, driven largely by mega deals from India’s IndiGo and Air India, as well as a purchase by Turkish Airlines that was announced in December.

The plane manufacturer delivered 735 airplanes, leaving its order backlog at 8,598. Airbus comfortably broke its previous sales record, set in 2014 on a gross basis. The company’s A320neo family of single aisle aircraft has been particularly successful, but Airbus has also gained momentum with its A350 widebody model.

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said the planemaker, which analysts say made a slow start to the year as it wrestled with tight supply chains, had seen "increased flexibility and capability" in its industrial system. He added that he was confident Airbus would meet a delivery target of 75 A320 jets a month in 2026, with ten assembly lines active for the A320 family.

On the other hand, Boeing, which is still recovering from a safety grounding of its 737 MAX followed by a spate of production problems, has also managed its highest annual sales total in almost a decade: 1,456 gross, or 1,314 planes net of cancellations and conversions. Boeing is under fresh scrutiny over production following a cabin blowout that prompted a partial new grounding of one type of 737 MAX.

The US Federal Aviation Administration is investigating whether Boeing failed to make sure a panel that blew off a jetliner in midflight last week was safe and manufactured to meet the design that regulators approved. Yesterday Boeing said it would cooperate with the investigation. One of two plugs on an Alaska Airlines jetliner blew out shortly after the plane took off from Portland, Oregon, leaving a hole in the plane.

“This incident should have never happened and it cannot happen again," the FAA said. “Boeing’s manufacturing practices need to comply with the high safety standards they’re legally accountable to meet." The FAA asked Boeing to respond within 10 business days and tell the agency "the root cause" of the problem with the door plug and steps the company is taking to prevent a recurrence.

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