Boeing plane deliveries are the highest in years. Now it’s speeding up

Boeing is expected to announce this week that it delivered the most planes since 2018 last year after stabilizing its production, the clearest sign of a turnaround after years of safety crises and snowballing quality defects.

The aerospace giant is now planning to increase production.

“We’re a long way from a pretty dysfunctional culture, let’s say, but they’re making great progress,” said Richard Aboulafia, managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory, a consulting firm for the aerospace industry.

Boeing has been forced to cut production in recent years following two fatal crashes of its popular 737 Max in 2018 and 2019 and the in-flight explosion of a door plug on one of its planes in the first week of 2024. The Covid pandemic has disrupted aircraft assembly at both Boeing and its main rival, Airbus, with supply chain delays and the loss of experienced workers, even after the worst of the health crisis has eased.

Boeing executives, including CEO Kelly Ortberg — a longtime aerospace executive who came out of retirement to take the top job months after the in-flight door jam accident — are preparing to increase production of its cash cow 737 Max jet and the longer-range 787 Dreamliners this year.

That could help the manufacturer, the largest U.S. exporter by value, return to profitability as analysts predict this year, territory that was out of reach for seven years as its executives focused on damage control and were forced to reassure frustrated airline executives waiting for delayed planes.

Their tone has changed as Boeing has become more predictable and increased production, with the blessing of the Federal Aviation Administration. In a sign of the FAA’s increased confidence in Boeing, the agency said in September that Boeing could issue its own certificates of airworthiness before customers receive some of its 737s and 787s after years of restrictions.

Boeing’s commercial aircraft business is its largest unit, accounting for about 46% of sales in the first nine months of last year, with the rest coming from its defense and services businesses. Boeing last reported annual profit in 2018.

Investors are optimistic about further improvements. Shares of Boeing have gained 36% over the past 12 months, surpassing the S&P500This is an advance of almost 20%.

“Boeing is definitely better and more stable,” said Bob Jordan, CEO of the all-Boeing airline. Southwest Airlinesin an interview on December 10.

The company is expected to outline its 2026 production plans later this month, when it reports quarterly results on January 27.

For Boeing, the recent turnaround has occurred largely on the assembly shop floor.

Under Ortberg, the manufacturer reduced so-called itinerant work, in which assembly tasks are carried out out of order, to avoid costly mistakes. The company also made other manufacturing changes, including additional training.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in June that inadequate training and management oversight were among the company’s problems, according to its investigation into what led to the door jam bursting in January 2024.

On December 8, Boeing also completed the acquisition of fuselage manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems, from which Boeing spun off the business twenty years ago. It now has more direct control over the crucial supplier.

Boeing delivered 537 planes in the first 11 months of last year. It announces December deliveries on Tuesday, but Jefferies estimates the company delivered 61 commercial planes last month, 44 of which were Boeing’s best-selling 737 Max.

Boeing delivered 348 planes in 2024 and 528 in 2023. Last year’s total would still be far from the 806 planes delivered in 2018.

Last October, the FAA increased its production cap for Boeing’s 737 Max from 38 to 42 per month. (The FAA required approval after the door jam mishap.) Chief Financial Officer Jay Malave said at a Dec. 2 UBS conference that he expects the company to hit that pace in early 2026. Ortberg told investors in October that further rate increases were on the table, in increments of five planes.

Transfers to airlines in 2026 will likely be for new production, versus disposal of older inventory, Malave had said. Boeing is also expected to produce about eight Dreamliners per month starting early this year, he added.

Deliveries are essential for plane makers because airlines and other customers pay most of the price of a plane when they receive it. Boeing’s main competitor, Airbus, is expected to release 2025 orders and deliveries on Monday.

Yet several planes that were already expected to carry passengers are not yet certified, including the Boeing 777X as well as the Max 7 and Max 10 variants, depriving Boeing of cash and increasing costs.

Southwest is awaiting the delayed Max 7, the smallest plane in the Max family. The model is important for air routes where demand is low, so airlines can avoid overloading the market with seats, which would drive down fares.

Southwest CEO Jordan said last month that he doesn’t expect the airline to fly the Max 7 until the first half of 2027, as Boeing’s certification work continues. Boeing at one point expected it to enter service in 2019.

“They’re still very much short of delivering the planes we need, but I’m happy to see the progress on the Max 7,” Jordan told CNBC.

Orders for Boeing and Airbus planes appear strong, with demand expected to continue to outpace supply over the next decade, Douglas Harned, an aerospace analyst at Bernstein, said in a note last week.

Airbus overtook Boeing in deliveries last year, although Boeing appears to have overtaken its European rival in new orders.

Through November, Boeing recorded 1,000 gross orders, compared to 797 for Airbus. Airline customers have started looking beyond this decade, securing delivery slots into the mid-2030s as they plan for growth and international expansion.

Wednesday, Alaska Airlines announced it was ordering 105 Boeing 737 Max 10s, the longest aircraft in the Max group. Alaska Fleet Chief Shane Jones told CNBC the order was a sign of “our confidence in the Max 10 certification” as well as “our confidence in Boeing and its turnaround and its ability to produce quality aircraft on time.”

Alaska also exercised options on five 787 Dreamliners for more international routes just over a year after acquiring Hawaiian Airlines — a combination that gave Alaska more Dreamliners and Airbus A330s to reach destinations it previously couldn’t reach, such as Japan, South Korea and Italy.

The wide-body market is now gaining momentum, said Ron Epstein, an aerospace analyst at Bank of America, with orders starting to get out to customers more quickly.

International travel, especially high-end travel, has been particularly strong in the years following the pandemic, as travelers vacation around the world. More global airlines are considering long-haul planes like Boeing’s Dreamliner and Airbus’ A330 and A350 for years to come, heating up the wide-body market, analysts say.

Globally, planes flew at nearly 84% capacity in November, the highest level on record, according to the latest available data from the International Air Transport Association, an airline industry group.

As travel demand remains robust, orders to replace older aircraft and acquire new ones will continue to fuel growth.

“The magic, if you will, of air travel is that until someone finds a carrier, you know, (like) ‘Star Trek,’ where you vaporize and show up somewhere else, we’re going to fly,” Epstein said.