The US planemaker, however, trails European rival Airbus, which delivered 89 ⁠jets in June and 351 in the first half of the year. Boeing’s deliveries will likely rise in the second half of the year as the venture increases output of its best-selling 737 MAX. The company currently is increasing 737 output from 42 jets a month to 47.

Boeing’s June deliveries included 42 737 MAXs and 13 787s. Its 787 deliveries included five jets that had ‌been ⁠held up by seat certification delays to Saudi Arabia-based startup airline Riyadh Air. Boeing also delivered three 777 freighters and five 767s, including three for conversion into KC-46 aerial refuelling tankers by the company’s defence division.

Boeing booked ⁠121 new orders and eight cancellations in June, for a net total of 113 new orders. The aerospace giant has so far received 7,206 orders for the 737 ⁠MAX, surpassing its previous best-selling 737 Next Generation, which received 7,159 orders.

Talking about the 737 MAX, Boeing is also in the final stages of getting regulatory certification for an engine anti-ice system fix for the jetliner, paving the way for the long-delayed MAX 7 and 10 versions to enter ‌service.

The redesign has been done to address a mechanical issue that could cause overheating and possible engine failure. The issue, as per the company’s executives, has been the biggest obstacle to certification of the smallest and largest versions of Boeing’s best-selling jet.

As per the aviation analytics firm Cirium, Boeing has already built about 30 MAX 7s and nine MAX 10s awaiting delivery. The larger MAX 10 accounts for at least 28% of outstanding MAX orders.

The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in May it expected to certify the smaller 737 MAX 7 this summer. South-west Airlines has been the biggest customer for that version. As per the planemaker, the more profitable MAX 10 is 98% through certification flight testing.

“We have two flight tests left, and we should be done real soon here,” said Chris Payne, Boeing vice president and general manager for 737 MAX development programmes.

Certification of the MAX 7 and 10 is years behind schedule, which has allowed European planemaker Airbus to expand its lead in the narrowbody market through its popular A320 and A321 families and their Neo and XLR variants.

Boeing has already undergone a stringent certification process following two fatal MAX 8 crashes in 2018 and 2019. Apart from that, regulators, especially the FAA, carried out intensive scrutiny of the company’s production and quality systems after a January 2024 mid-air cabin panel blowout on a nearly new Alaska Airlines MAX 9.

After the anti-ice system issue was discovered in 2021, regulators allowed the MAX variants already in service – the MAX 8, 8-200 and 9 – to continue flying and for Boeing to keep making the aircraft but delayed certification of the other versions.

“The fix to the system also reduces engine noise and mitigates fan flutter, based on testing at GE ‌Aerospace’s Ohio facility,” said Mike Sinnett, Boeing’s senior vice president of product strategy, product development and development programmes.

The 737 MAX’s LEAP-1B engine is produced by CFM International, a joint venture of GE Aerospace and France’s Safran. Once the certification is done, Boeing will do the retrofitting of the engine anti-icing mechanism during the routine maintenance shifts, during which the aircraft will also go through intensive new wiring.

Keeping this in mind, Boeing has been working with regulators on a schedule that would allow airlines to make the ⁠repair when their planes are already in the hangar for heavy maintenance checks, reducing disruption and costs.

The MAX 10 will also introduce an updated flight crew alerting system, known as an enhanced angle-of-attack system, to meet safety requirements imposed by the US Congress following the two MAX crashes that killed 346 people and led to the model’s 20-month grounding beginning in 2019.

The system ⁠simplifies flight-deck alerts resulting from a failed angle-of-attack sensor, which overwhelmed pilots with “too much information” before the planes crashed in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

“The update is an IOU from the return-to-service (requirements) after the very unfortunate accidents. All in-service 737 MAX jets will have the new system installed within ⁠two years after regulators certify it,” said Bill Quashnock, Boeing’s 737 deputy chief pilot.

“Boeing is also more than 50% through certification flight testing for the 777-9 and is on track to start delivering the new widebody jet next year,” said Terry Beezhold, Boeing vice president and general manager of the 777-9 programme.

“The company still has to complete several major certification requirements, including getting regulatory approval for long-distance flights with few airports in between,” the official concluded.

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“We’re off and rolling at the 47 rate, and we should be there in the next couple months,” Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said at the Bernstein Annual Strategic Decisions Conference while giving the latest update.

As per Ortberg, Boeing now aims to move its production ratio to 52 jets a month by early 2027, after opening a manufacturing line in Everett, Washington.

“I think the whole world’s watching to make sure we make (rate) 47 and 52,” Ortberg remarked.

The 737 production, since January 2024, has run into consistent headwinds after a midair panel blowout on a nearly new 737 MAX revealed significant manufacturing quality problems at the US planemaker and brought intense scrutiny from customers and the FAA, which then capped 737 outputs at 38 a month. ⁠The first relaxation came in October 2025, when the safety watchdog removed the cap.

With the latest development, Boeing now expects to increase the 737 output, as it will accelerate the American aerospace giant’s ongoing turnaround after years of crises that resulted in more than USD 35 billion in losses from 2019 to 2024. In 2025, the USD 10.6 billion sale of subsidiary Jeppesen, a digital aviation services provider, helped the company to register a USD 2.2 billion profit.

Giving further updates about the certification flight tests of MAX 7 and 10 (the narrowbody jet’s smallest and largest variants), Ortberg said Boeing has largely completed the procedures. Certifying the two models and Boeing’s new widebody 777-9 has taken several years longer than expected and been a significant drag on Boeing’s earnings.

“Pretty confident that we’re not going to see any hiccups in the remaining phase of flight testing for certifying the new 737 MAX engine anti-ice system. The one area I guess I’d highlight where I haven’t met my goals was getting the certifications complete on the new commercial aeroplanes sooner,” the Boeing CEO noted.

Ortberg’s comment also coincided with remarks made by Bryan Bedford, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration, who now expects the 737 MAX 7 certification to conclude by this summer, followed by the larger MAX 10 by 2026-end.

While supporting Boeing’s plan of raising the 737 production from 42 to 47, Bedford told Reuters that the company may again hike the ratio in the next 90 days.

“It’s important for the country ⁠that Boeing is successful. We are absolutely comfortable with 42 to 47, and I suspect in another 30, 60, or 90 days we’re going to see continued rate increases,” Bedford remarked.

Production of Boeing’s twin-aisle 787 is ‌back on track (at eight ⁠a month) after dipping earlier in 2026 due to delays with engine supplies from GE Aerospace. Boeing still hopes to raise output to 10 per month later this year, subject to the pace of engine deliveries.

“We have not had customers ask to delay jetliner deliveries due to the Iran war and higher fuel prices. Instead, many customers have said they will take deliveries earlier if possible,” Ortberg concluded.

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As per Jon Holden, vice president specialising in training and apprenticeships at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), Boeing’s unionised factory workers in the Pacific Northwest (region having major production hubs in Everett, Renton, and Auburn, Washington) now number more than 34,000 and are “heading higher.”

“We’re seeing strong interest as we hire in Puget Sound and across the enterprise to support our production rate increases,” a Boeing spokesperson told Reuters, confirming Holden’s remarks.

The IAM represented about 33,000 Boeing workers in the Pacific Northwest region in 2024 when Holden headed that local union during a seven-week strike over a new contract.

“Boeing needs to staff a fourth Seattle-area production line, known as the North Line, for the planemaker’s strong-selling 737 MAX narrowbody jet,” Holden said, adding that the aviation giant further faces the challenge of supporting production of the 777X widebody that is still awaiting certification.

Boeing is also working to expand its satellite production capacity and launch a new satellite platform. It is targeting 26 satellite deliveries in 2026, up from four in 2025.

In Washington, aerospace manufacturing ‌jobs had dropped to around 79,000 in August 2025, before climbing back to 81,800 in February 2026, according to the state’s Employment Security Department.

The aviation sector, in general, is looking at the prospect of witnessing a major employment boom, as companies are hiring to meet demand from airlines for more fuel-efficient jets, apart from addressing growing industrial activities in the space sector and rising defence spending due to geopolitical tensions around the globe.

Karen Arlak, chief human resources officer at Honeywell Aerospace, told Reuters that the supplier giant expects to add over 1,200 positions in 2026 in areas such as engineering and manufacturing due to growth in the commercial aftermarket, defence, and space sectors.

Talking about Boeing, the company’s current demand for factory workers still trails its aggressive hiring from ⁠2023 to 2024, when it needed to add workers following the COVID pandemic and the earlier grounding of the 737 MAX after two deadly crashes in 2019.

“This is more, I think, a sustained ramp that I feel good about, as long as the economy continues to go, as long as airlines continue to keep their orders,” Holden concluded.

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Guillaume Faury’s grim prediction, which he delivered while interacting with France Inter radio, coincided with the latest feat of Boeing, where the latter, buoyed by strong demand for its 787 long-haul jet, on December 10, posted 1,000 gross orders or a net total of 908 after cancellations between January and November 2025, compared with 700 net orders for Airbus.

“The fact that we have been ahead on orders for five years means our order backlog is much higher than that of our main competitor. But they have indeed been helped by the American President as part of tariff negotiations with several countries, where plane orders became part of the resolution of trade disputes,” Guillaume Faury noted.

Meanwhile, United States President Donald Trump claimed credit for helping Boeing reach the 1,000 mark after airlines announced orders for hundreds of wide-body jets coinciding with the Republican’s tour of the Gulf region in May this year.

“Boeing gave me the award for the greatest salesman in the history of Boeing, which was a nice little award. I think I have sold 1,000 Boeing planes… Now all they have to do is make them…but they will,” Trump told a group of business leaders.

As per the analysts, several airlines either placed Boeing orders or timed previously planned order announcements to soothe trade tensions with the United States in 2025, with the trends being visible particularly in Asia.

Speaking at a conference in September, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said the “administration has been very helpful” in supporting sales campaigns, and that the company had benefited from Trump’s aggressive push to increase American exports. He further stressed that demand for new aircraft was also driving sales, as the aircraft maker is trying to stage a comeback after fighting safety and quality-related challenges, especially with the 737 MAX crashes, which saw two deadly crashes in 2018–2019, followed by a 2024 door panel blowout.

Also, the venture faced other setbacks in 2024, in the form of supply chain disruptions and worker protests, with both factors contributing to crippling the production activities. Boeing’s aircraft deliveries plunged by a third on a year-on-year basis. The company managed just 348 jetliner deliveries in 2024 compared to 528 in 2023, less than half of Airbus’s 766 deliveries during the same period. This translated into staggering financial losses of USD 11.8 billion in 2024 alone, pushing total losses since 2019 past the USD 35 billion mark.

The company also faced regulatory probes, lawsuits related to manufacturing defects, safety failures, and whistleblower retaliation. It had to pay USD 1.1 billion to avoid prosecution over the 2018-19 crashes that killed 346 people. While Kelly Ortberg has been successful in changing the business’ fortunes to some extent (as he succeeded David Calhoun amid numerous safety scandals), by overhauling its safety protocols through workforce retraining, whistleblower protections, and factory floor quality interventions, challenge still awaits Boeing as its 777X (including 777-9 & -8) widebody project faces significant delays, with first aircraft delivery now pushed to 2027. This setback has so far cost the planemaker nearly USD 5 billion in charges, driven by prolonged FAA certification, technical issues like engine software, supply chain problems, and quality control.

However, Guillaume Faury’s admission now means that the traditional Boeing vs Airbus rivalry is back, at least in the near term. While Airbus orders have lagged for months, Faury’s comments confirm a probable change in the ranking for new business in 2025. Despite Boeing taking an order book lead, Airbus is expected to retain its title as the world’s largest jet manufacturer.

Asked about reports of a large pending order from China, Guillaume Faury said he did not expect an imminent new order for hundreds of jets but spoke of clearances for previous orders. While Beijing has already decided to go ahead with the delivery of 120 previously ordered jets, industry sources told Reuters that the European planemaker was banking on an order for up to 500 jets from China to meet its internal order goals. Beijing is in negotiations with Boeing for a similar package.

Airbus has also renewed efforts to close a deal with AirAsia for some 100 A220S against competition from Brazil’s Embraer.

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During a quality crisis, Ortberg will take on the enormous challenge of restoring confidence with authorities, the business community, and the general public on August 8. The company’s finance chief has cautioned that it will continue to burn cash. A mid-air cabin panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines-operated 737 MAX 9 jet carrying 171 passengers on January 5 has left Boeing embroiled in a reputational and safety crisis.

The planemaker posted a loss of $1.4 billion on revenue of $16.9 billion, short of the consensus among analysts for USD 17.2 billion, according to LSEG data. It lost USD 2.90 a share, worse than expectations for a loss of USD 1.97 a share. Boeing CFO Brian West informed analysts that he anticipates cash burn in the third quarter of 2024 and that cash use will be higher than anticipated. USD 4.33 billion was used by the company in free cash flow during the second quarter during a conference call.

Board chair Larry Kellner announced he would not seek re-election and CEO Dave Calhoun decided to retire by year’s end following an executive reorganisation brought about by the company’s crisis.

Calhoun told analysts he did not think Ortberg’s arrival would lead to a big leadership overhaul at Boeing. Stephanie Pope, the head of Boeing Commercial Aeroplanes, was seen as a possible candidate to succeed Calhoun. Calhoun will be a special adviser to the board until March 2025, informed Boeing Chair Steve Mollenkopf.

Problems Galore Boeing

Shortly after the January 2024 accident, the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) barred Boeing from raising the production of its cash-cow 737 MAX family of jets above 38 a month, without estimating how long the limitation would last. As per Brian West, Boeing had been making aircraft far below that level for some weeks to plug quality gaps.

Kelly Ortberg will now have to help revive production of the 737 jets from about 25 in June and July to 38 by 2024 end. He will receive a long-term incentive award targeted at USD 17.5 million, apart from getting an annual base salary of USD 1.5 million, an annual incentive award target of USD 3 million and a USD 1.25 million cash payment in December.

During the 2024 Q2, Boeing delivered a total of 92 aircraft, down 32% from 2023. It posted a loss of USD 2.33 a share, as its troubled defence and space business exacerbated the financial strain on the company. The Defence, Space and Security unit, one of Boeing’s three main businesses, lost billions of dollars in 2022 and 2023, which executives attributed to cost overruns on fixed-price contracts. Such contracts have high margins but leave defence contractors vulnerable to inflationary pressures that have dented US corporate earnings in recent years.

Meanwhile, the chair of the US Senate Commerce Committee, Senator Maria Cantwell, wants the FAA to conduct a thorough review into its oversight of Boeing and other manufacturers, raising serious questions about the government’s scrutiny of the planemaker.

She said the FAA in April 2024 disclosed that it had conducted a combined total of 298 audits of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems over the prior two years that “did not result in any enforcement actions.”

Cantwell said that “a root cause analysis would ensure both Boeing and FAA have discovered the core causes of problems, rather than just symptoms.”

She wants the analysis “to identify any deficiencies in its oversight of Boeing and other manufacturers” and to “develop corrective actions and a plan for implementing them.”

After the Alaska Airlines incident, the FAA conducted a 737 MAX production audit into supplier Spirit and found multiple instances where the companies had failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements. FAA is already facing heat for being “too hands off” in oversight of Boeing.

The FAA’s approach before the mid-air incident was “too focused on paperwork audits and not focused enough on inspections,” FAA administrator Michael Whitaker commented recently, while adding, “We will utilise the full extent of our enforcement authority to ensure Boeing is held accountable for any noncompliance.”

Whitaker in February barred Boeing from boosting production of its best-selling plane. Whitaker also said the agency will continue to increase its on-site presence at Boeing and Spirit for the foreseeable future.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) earlier said that the door panel that flew off a Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet mid-flight was missing four key bolts and no paperwork exists for the removal of those bolts. Whitaker also confirmed no paperwork exists.

Boeing, meanwhile, has finalised a guilty plea to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and agreed to pay at least USD 243.6 million after breaching a 2021 agreement with the US Justice Department. The planemaker allowed potentially risky work at its factories and did not ensure key aeroplane record keeping was accurate or complete, the Justice Department said as it outlined why it believed the planemaker had violated the 2021 deferred prosecution agreement.

In what seems to be a silver lining for the aviation giant, it has resumed deliveries of 737 MAX jets to China after a lengthy delay stemming from regulatory issues. The deliveries got delayed in recent weeks due to a Chinese regulatory review of batteries powering the cockpit voice recorder.

However, in the recently concluded Farnborough Airshow, Boeing got only 96 orders and commitments plus 22 options, much lower than the 356 orders it won at the Paris Airshow in 2023. Rival Airbus, on the other hand, pulled ahead of its American competitor, by securing 164 aircraft orders and commitments.

Who Is Kelly Ortberg?

The 64-year-old Ortberg began his career as an engineer at semiconductor maker Texas Instruments in 1983. Four years later, in 1987, he left to work as a programme manager at aircraft electronics supplier Rockwell Collins.

He was appointed CEO of Rockwell Collins in 2013 and oversaw United Technologies Corporation’s purchase of Rockwell in 2018. He became a member of the board of directors of Aptiv PLC after retiring in 2021 and is presently employed by a supplier of automotive technology. During his tenure at Rockwell Collins Ortberg also oversaw the company’s development programmes for Airbus A350 XWB, Boeing 787 and the Bombardier CSeries.

He also served as the former Chair of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) Board of Governors.

“There is much work to be done, and I’m looking forward to getting started,” Kelly Ortberg said after being appointed as Boeing’s CEO.

Kelly Ortberg’s recovery plans for the aviation giant will most likely be based in Seattle, near Boeing’s 737 MAX and 777 factories, which will be a step in the right direction, said Jon Holden, union local president for more than 30,000 Boeing workers who are negotiating a new contract, while interacting with the Reuters.

Holden also said that Ortberg needs the support of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union “more than ever.”

“This is a strong and safe pick. We can appreciate Ortberg’s age may be higher than some investors would have liked to see. However, we believe Ortberg’s reputation at Rockwell Collins and United Technologies/RTX is strong,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Ken Herbert said in a note.

Kelly Ortberg’s experience in integrating acquisitions such as steering Collins through an USD 8.3 billion deal to purchase BE Aerospace in 2016 will face a fresh test at Boeing. The latter is working to integrate Spirit AeroSystems into its fold after clinching a deal earlier in 2024 to buy back the fuselage maker.

High Hopes From The New Boss

Kelly Ortberg will have to strengthen relations between Boeing and its airline customers, and earn trust with the regulators and lawmakers.

“While we hold Kelly in high regard, we note that it has been some time since he was a public company CEO, and as he is 64 it will probably fall to others to continue the work of fixing Boeing,” said Vertical Research Partners analyst Rob Stallard, while interacting with Reuters.

Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest Airlines said the company looks forward “to working with Kelly Ortberg in his efforts to return Boeing to its place as the leading American aerospace company.”

“I think Mr. Ortberg is likely a great choice for CEO. He has an impressive resume with an engineering background, which is crucial for operating in a complex technical environment,” said Tony Bancroft, portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds, which holds shares of Boeing.

Industry insiders had previously hoped Boeing would hire someone on the younger side, in the expectation that it would take years to turn the company around. Kelly Ortberg is 64, however, and Boeing said it waived the mandatory retirement age of 65 just like it did for CEO Dave Calhoun, who is departing after a management shakeup earlier in 2024.

Kelly Ortberg is said to have beaten out Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stephanie Pope and Spirit AeroSystems boss and former Boeing executive Pat Shanahan for the job. GE Aerospace CEO Larry Culp, Carrier Global CEO and Boeing board member Dave Gitlin and American Airlines Chairman and former Boeing CFO Greg Smith were seen as potential contenders but all indicated they were unwilling to be considered for the role.

Boeing had faced pressure from industry executives and American lawmakers to choose new leadership with an engineering background and without lengthy ties to the company. Whether Ortberg’s appointment is enough to calm down the situation, remains to be seen.

“Mr. Ortberg is a mechanical engineer. I hope that means he will ensure that his top message for everyone is building the best aeroplane means building the safest aeroplane in the world,” said Rep Rick Larsen, top Democrat on the House Transportation Committee who represents a district in Washington State home to major Boeing operations.

Analysts and acquaintances described Kelly Ortberg as being a good listener, honest and willing to take decisive action. One such person is Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu, who wrote in a note, “We believe during his leadership at Collins he was well liked by employees and direct reports and very personable. This was while being a tough negotiator dealing with a diverse set of customers and suppliers and managing the complexity of its diverse customer base.”

Image Credit: Boeing

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