Boeing’s latest financials show that the company’s commercial airplane business continues to be a long way away from its pre-2019 performance. Although Airbus will not report full 2025 financials for a few weeks, preliminary data indicates that 2025 was again a strong year. This article presents a comparative analysis of the commercial aircraft businesses of both companies between over the last 26 years, including key revenue and cost metrics, and the factors that will determine future performance.
Posts tagged as “Aircraft”
Airbus and Boeing together delivered 25% more aircraft in 2025 than in 2024, but delivery rates continue to be below historical averages. Delivery rates for narrowbody aircraft are expected to return to trend by 2027, while widebody aircraft delivery rates are not likely to reach normal levels until 2028. We estimate that that by the end of 2027 the industry will be short of about 3400 narrowbody and 1400 widebody aircraft deliveries. The consequences of these missed deliveries are wide-ranging: ticket prices and air cargo rates are higher, and carriers are operating older and less efficient equipment, and at least the passenger market is smaller than it would have otherwise been. The impact has been greater in intercontinental markets that rely on B787s, A330s, B777s, A350s and other larger equipment.