The latest figures show that regarding aircraft orders, Boeing ended May 2021 better than Airbus. The American aircraft manufacturer registered a total of 73 aircraft orders, overshadowing Airbus’ results, which disclosed only seven aircraft orders.
Boeing 737 MAX aircraft family accounted for the largest part of overall orders. In May 2021, the gross orders comprised 61 Boeing 737 MAX, including the latest order of 34 737 MAX aircraft from Southwest Airlines (LUV). The other 14 MAX orders came from the lessor SMBC Aviation Capital, while 13 737 MAX aircraft were ordered by the American air carrier Alaska Airlines. Adding to that, unnamed buyers ordered six Boeing 777 freighters, Lufthansa (LHAB) (LHA) ordered five Boeing 787 Dreamliners and one Boeing 777 freighter.
Looking at Airbus’ May 2021 figures, the Airbus A350 aircraft accounted for approximately 70% of its total orders. The European aircraft giant had only five orders of Airbus A350 aircraft from Germany’s flag-carrier Lufthansa (LHAB) (LHA) and two Airbus A320neo orders from Mexican low-cost airline Volaris.
However, with regards to the aircraft deliveries, Airbus performed better than Boeing. In May 2021, Airbus delivered a total of 50 aircraft, including 41 Airbus A320neo aircraft, four Airbus A220s, three Airbus A350s, one Airbus A330neo and one Airbus A380. Boeing, on the other hand, handed only 17 aircraft. In addition to 10 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, Boeing delivered two Boeing 787 Dreamliners. To date, deliveries of Boeing 787 Dreamliner are temporarily halted by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) following the request for more data on Boeing’s proposed solution to address previously disclosed Boeing 787 Dreamliner manufacture issues.
Boeing also disclosed that it handed over one Boeing 777 freighter, one Boeing 767-300 freighter, one Boeing 747 freighter and one Boeing 737-800A.
According to the latest results, widebody jet deliveries for both Airbus and Boeing remained relatively low, as many air carriers have stopped taking widebody aircraft due to decreased demand in long-haul operations amid travel restrictions across the globe.
In the period from January to May 2021, Boeing delivered a total of 111 aircraft to 30 customers, while the European aircraft manufacturer delivered 220 aircraft to 61 customers across the globe. On the other hand, Boeing counts more gross orders than Airbus. Boeing stands at 380, while Airbus has a total of 94 aircraft orders.