Boeing's dismal 2024 deliveries show just how much of a challenge CEO Kelly Ortberg faces
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- Boeing delivered 348 commercial aircraft last year, fewer than half as many as rival Airbus.
- It's the sixth year in a row Boeing has lagged behind its European competitor.
- After a troubling year, the planemaker has a plan to turn things around.
Boeing reported last year's delivery figures late Tuesday, and they show the scale of the challenge that lies ahead.
The embattled planemaker delivered 348 commercial aircraft in 2024 — down by just over a third since the year before. It was its lowest figure since the pandemic.
Boeing also delivered fewer than half as many planes as rival Airbus, which last Thursday reported 766 deliveries.
Last year was especially arduous for Boeing as it not only dealt with the fallout from January's Alaska Airlines blowout but also a seven-week strike that crippled production.
However, it was also the sixth year in a row it has lagged behind Airbus.
The bulk of both companies' deliveries consist of short-haul, single-aisle aircraft.
Boeing's 737 Max has become almost synonymous with its recent woes, while Airbus is helping airlines unlock new routes with an extra-long-range version of its A320neo.
The A320neo overtook the 737 Max as the best-selling narrow-body jet following the Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air crashes in 2018 and 2019, in which a combined 346 people died.
After a door plug came off an Alaska Airlines 737 Max in midair last January, the Federal Aviation Administration limited Boeing's production of the type to 38 a month.
However, it has stayed below that as it works to overhaul its safety and quality processes.
Boeing was also behind Airbus for orders last year, receiving 569 compared to the European manufacturer's 826. Although, it does have a smaller backlog to work through, of 5,595 versus 8,658.
On the one hand, backlogs are a sign that both firms have plenty of business — as airlines order planes years in advance. However, it is also a challenge to work through the order book and ensure airlines receive their jets on time.
Several Boeing customers voiced their annoyance with delivery delays last year. The planemaker also announced further delays to the certification of its 777X jet.
The industry has also had to contend with supply-chain constraints, with Airbus scaling back its delivery target.
For Boeing, there is a road map to increase production without compromising quality.
In 2024, it acquired the bulk of Spirit AeroSystems — a key supplier that was formerly part of Boeing before being spun off into its own entity.
Integrating Spirit back into the company should help keep production on track and minimize traveled work, where planes are assembled out of sequence.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg has also made clear that he wants company leaders on the factory floors, so that workers have more trust in management and their concerns and challenges are better understood.
The latest delivery figures show there is a lot of work ahead for Boeing to better challenge Airbus, let alone reclaim the upper hand in the duopoly. But the new boss has a plan in place.