Boeing On Track To Meet 2026 Deliveries

Five months into 2026, Boeing is well on track to meet its full-year guidance on aircraft deliveries. The airframer delivered 250 aircraft through May, up from 220 for the same period last year. With rate increases around the corner, things look positive.

In its orders and deliveries sheet, Boeing says it delivered 198 MAX and two 737NGs, so 200 in total through May. This compares to 164 MAX and three NGs in May 2025. In May, 51 MAX and one 737NG for BDS were delivered, including seven to Southwest and four to Virgin Australia. This compares to 34 deliveries each in March and April. These months were affected by the wiring issue on a small number of MAX aircraft, so May was about catching up.

Chief financial officer Jay Malave earlier guided “around 500” 737/MAX for the full year, so this means that the program is almost halfway through its guidance. Compared to May last year, the production rate for the program has gone up from 38 per month to 42 in October and to 47 this month.

President and CEO Kelly Ortberg told CNBC this week that the fourth production line, the North Line in Everett, will start on July 6. Conditional on meeting KPI’s and getting FAA approval, the next rate increase to 52/month will come some six months after the latest ramp-up. But even at “just” rate 47, Boeing should be covered to meet its delivery guidance for 2026 if nothing happens.

787
Dreamliner deliveries stand at 27 for the first five months versus 28 in May last year. During the month, six 787s were delivered, identical to May last year. As Ortberg said recently at the Bernstein conference, production is not the issue with the 787; deliveries are. Delayed certification of completed aircraft with new cabins is taking more time, but this should change soon.

Deliveries to Lufthansa with their Allegris premium cabins are progressing, while Riyadh Air has taken delivery of its first three Dreamliners last week. CEO Tony Douglas said on Monday that his airline will receive another five until the end of July and one aircraft per month after that. This is not only helping Riyadh Air, but also Boeing, which guided Dreamliner deliveries at 90 to 100 this year.

767 deliveries, including freighters and tankers, stand at 11 year-to-date compared to 9 last year and included one 767-300F in May. A single 777F delivery in May brought the score to 12 this year, down from 16 last year.

Orders
Boeing recorded 22 net orders in May. Gross orders stood at 27, of which 14 are 737NG for an unidentified military customer of BDS, two MAX for an unidentified customer, one MAX for TUI, and 10 787s for Lufthansa Group. There were 16 cancellations, all MAX, including 8 for Korean carrier Jeju Air, 6 for Aviation Capital Group, and one each for BOC Aviation and Air Europa.

Offsetting cancellations are 11 aircraft that moved from the ASC 606 reserve back into the firm backlog, resulting in 22 net orders. This brings net orders, including adjustments for the year, to 298. The net backlog is down from 6.216 at the end of April to 6.178 at the end of May. Excluding the ASC 606 reserve, the backlog stands at 6.765 aircraft.

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Richard Schuurman

Richard Schuurman is a freelance aviation reporter since 2016 and covers commercial aviation and the aerospace industry. He has contributed before to AirInsight between 2018-2024.

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