Boeing edges past Airbus on deliveries

Boeing delivered 143 commercial jets in the first quarter of 2026, topping Airbus’s 114 and taking a quarterly delivery lead for the first time in seven years. (boeing.com) (airbus.com) Boeing’s January-through-March total included 114 Boeing 737s, 15 Boeing 787s, eight Boeing 777s and six Boeing 767s, according to the company’s April 14 disclosure. Airbus said it had delivered 60 aircraft in March and 114 for the year to date through the end of that month. (boeing.com) (airbus.com) The quarter still ended with Airbus ahead in March alone. Boeing delivered 46 jets in March, down from 51 in February, after wiring repairs on about 25 undelivered Boeing 737 Max aircraft slowed handovers. (airbus.com) (cnbc.com) Deliveries matter more than orders for near-term cash because planemakers collect most of the money when an aircraft is handed over to an airline. Boeing’s first-quarter edge follows years in which Airbus benefited from Boeing’s Boeing 737 Max crisis, production disruptions and certification delays. (theregister.com) (bloomberg.com) The lead does not mean Boeing has solved its production problems. Boeing said its delivery figures are not final until quarterly results are issued, and the company’s first-quarter earnings call is scheduled for April 22, 2026. (boeing.com 1) (boeing.com 2) Airbus is dealing with its own bottleneck. Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said in February that Pratt & Whitney engine shortages were limiting Airbus’s ability to raise A320neo-family output, even as Airbus set a 2026 goal of about 870 commercial aircraft deliveries. (cnbc.com) (airbus.com) That helps explain why a quarterly comparison can swing even when airline demand stays strong. Airbus delivered only 54 aircraft across January and February before rebounding to 60 in March, while Boeing built its first-quarter lead earlier in the quarter. (airbus.com) (flightplan.forecastinternational.com) Boeing also remains dependent on programs that are still in recovery. The company is working toward the Boeing 777-9’s entry into service and said on February 19 that the Federal Aviation Administration and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency had granted initial qualification for Boeing 777-9 training devices. (boeing.com) For now, the scoreboard favors Boeing for one quarter and Airbus for one month. The next test comes with April deliveries and Boeing’s April 22 earnings, when investors will look for evidence that either company can turn a short burst into a steadier production run. (airbus.com) (boeing.com)