The Boeing Co. reported its Q4 and full-year aircraft delivery totals for 2024, confirming the poor expectations for a company that endured another year of controversies for its aircraft products, manufacturing operations, and commercial activities. The Boeing Commercial Airplanes division delivered 57 jets during the fourth quarter, and 348 for the full 12 months, fewer than half the total number of deliveries for 2023.
The Boeing Defense, Space & Security unit delivered 36 aircraft during Q4, and 112 for the full year, including 50 new or remanufactured AH-64 military helicopters, 14 F-15 and 11 F/A-18 fighter jets, and 10 KC-46 tanker aircraft.
It was the fifth straight year that Boeing trailed its rival Airbus for the most deliveries of commercial jets – which is a critical indicator to net revenues. Recently the European manufacturer reported 766 aircraft deliveries for 2024.
The 737-MAX program led all deliveries with 265 aircraft, followed by the 787 Dreamliner series with 51 deliveries, the 767 cargo jets with 18, and the 777 with 14 deliveries.
The program has been shadowed by problems since the fall of 2018, when the first of two 737 MAX jet crashes occurred. The second followed in March 2019, leading to the prolonged grounding of the aircraft. When a software programming error was identified as the cause of the two accidents, and corrected, the flights resumed – but Boeing began to encounter supply-chain problems and a variety of production defects, capped by the January 2024 incident in which a side-door plug failed during flight for an Alaska Air 737 MAX-9.
From that point, Boeing slowed production for the top-selling 737 MAX jets, and the Federal Aviation Administration imposed oversight during and after the investigation into the failure. While Boeing had intended to increase the production rate to fulfill an extensive number of new-aircraft orders, it had no choice but to comply with the scrutiny.
Starting in September, the 737 and the 777 programs were impacted when the International Assn. of Machinists initiated a nearly two-month strike at the Boeing operations in Washington and Oregon, where those aircraft operations are centered.
The slower production rates affected the deliveries but also revenues, as Boeing is unable to collect its payment for aircraft until the delivery is made. The 2024 total deliveries will almost surely be a factor when Boeing announces its full-year results later this month.
