American aircraft manufacturer Boeing set a new annual record of 806 commercial jet deliveries in 2018, surpassing its previous record of 763 deliveries in 2017, while delivering 69 units of 737 airplanes in December and posting a record-setting fourth quarter last year.
Even as Boeing delivered more jetliners, the company in a statement January 8 said its order book grew significantly with 893 net orders in 2018 valued at US$143.7 billion, 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 & CEO 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 deliveries of 737 airplanes were from the more fuel-efficient 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 program finished with 145 deliveries for the year.
Deliveries of various models of the 777, the 767, and the 747-8 rounded out the total of 806 airplanes for the year, the company said.
On the orders front, Boeing achieved sales success across its airplane portfolio with 893 net orders valued at $143.7 billion according to list prices. While growing the order backlog for nearly every program, 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 twin-aisle jet in history with 109 orders last year, or about 1,400 since the program 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 program 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 program achieved 675 net orders, including sales to 13 new customers.
“In addition to the ongoing demand for the 737 MAX, we saw strong sales for every one of our twin-aisle airplanes,” said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of commercial sales & 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.
