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

Boeing’s Turnaround: A New Era for the Aerospace Giant

After years of safety crises and quality defects, Boeing is finally showing signs of a significant turnaround. The company is set to report that it delivered the most airplanes since 2018 last year, with a total of 537 aircraft handed over in the first 11 months of the year. This milestone marks a major achievement for Boeing, which has been working to stabilize its production and regain the trust of its customers.

The aerospace giant’s leaders, including CEO Kelly Ortberg, are gearing up to increase production this year of its cash cow 737 Max aircraft and the longer-range 787 Dreamliners. This move is expected to help the manufacturer return to profitability, a territory that was out of reach for seven years as the company focused on damage control and reassuring frustrated airline executives who were awaiting late planes.

Regaining Momentum

Boeing’s commercial aircraft business is its largest unit, accounting for about 46% of sales in the first nine months of last year. The company last reported a full-year profit in 2018, but investors are optimistic for further improvement. Boeing shares have gained 36% over the last 12 months, outpacing the S&P 500’s nearly 20% advance.

The company’s recent turnaround has taken place largely on the assembly floor, where Boeing has slashed so-called traveled work and made other manufacturing changes, including added training. The National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into the door plug blowout in January 2024 identified inadequate training and management oversight as among the problems at the company.

Production Plans

Boeing is planning to ramp up production, with the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) blessing. The FAA raised its production cap on Boeing’s 737 Max from 38 a month to 42 in October, and the company expects to get to that rate in early 2026. Further rate increases are on the table, in increments of five planes, according to CEO Ortberg.

Handovers to airlines in 2026 will likely be new production, compared with clearing out older inventory. Boeing is also likely to produce about eight Dreamliners a month as of early this year. Deliveries are key for airplane makers, as airlines and other customers pay the bulk of an airplane’s price when they receive the aircraft.

Robust Demand

Orders for both Boeing and Airbus jets look solid, with demand set to continue outstripping supply into the next decade. Airline customers have started to look beyond this decade, snagging delivery slots into the mid-2030s as they plot out growth and international expansions. On Wednesday, Alaska Airlines said it is ordering 105 Boeing 737 Max 10 jets, the longest aircraft of the Max group.

The wide-body aircraft market is now picking up steam, with orders starting to get handed over faster to customers. International travel, especially at the high end, has been particularly strong in the years after the pandemic as travelers splash out on vacations around the world. More and more global airlines are looking at snagging long-haul jets like Boeing’s Dreamliner and Airbus’ A330 and A350s for the coming years, heating up the wide-body airplane market.