Boeing is out-delivering Airbus among US airlines

This is not the kind of information you'd expect. After all, Airbus has been out-delivering Boeing for years. Our models have reported this. But there's a nuance to the duopoly delivery rates. Boeing has been delivering single-aisle aircraft faster to US airlines than Airbus. Let's explain. The start of this data item came from an enquiry about ASMs among the US airline fleet. The chart illustrates Airbus's steady progress. Early on, McDonnell Douglas declined, while Airbus continued to grow. The delta between Boeing and Airbus narrowed during the pandemic, but widened again. This struck us as odd. After all, the market was clamoring for A321s, and Boeing couldn't get MAXs delivered. [caption id="attachment_91830" align="aligncenter" width="640"] US DOT; AirInsight[/caption] Looking at 1Q25, the delta is roughly 20 billion ASMs in favor of Boeing. What is going on behind these big numbers? Here's the backstory. The table below shows 2025 deliveries by month. Notice that the maximum deliveries are significantly higher than the A321 deliveries. There are no A320neo deliveries to the US. For Airbus, the US is a two-model market among single-aisle aircraft. Notice also that A321neo deliveries are all GTF-powered. Pratt & Whitney may have left scars on customers' networks. Only American Airlines is taking LEAP-powered aircraft and has taken none this year. For GTF customers who have their own MRO facilities, the GTF is less of an issue. [caption id="attachment_91831" align="aligncenter" width="640"] AirInsight[/caption] Now look at the Boeing numbers. Absent any A320neos, the MAX 8 is king in the US. And it is the biggest airlines that are taking them as fast as they can. All are new builds, none are from inventory. Moreover, new customer Allegiant has been taking a steady stream of MAX 8-200s. This airline has a big A320 fleet. Interestingly, the A321neo's score is 28 YTD, and the MAX 9's score is 25. Were the MAX 10 in play, we could add Delta, and the MAX score would be even higher. As Boeing continues to hit its rate limit of 38 per month, expect that number to be raised to 42 sooner than many anticipate. Yes, the A321 is indeed the most in-demand single-aisle. Airbus is struggling to meet demand for the A321neo. Kudos to Airbus for having the right product. But it is equally important to note that Boeing delivers what US customers want in the MAX 8 and 8-200. Customers cannot get MAX 10s, so they take MAX 9s. Boeing is quietly hitting its numbers. We have been highly critical of Boeing in the past. However, data has an opinion, and an emotionless one at that. The data show that Boeing is performing better among US airlines than Airbus in the single-aisle segment. And Boeing deserves a cheer for this performance.

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