Farnborough International Airshow opened with fresh orders for both Airbus and Boeing, but industry attention has shifted from contract tallies to the manufacturers’ ability to deliver their bulging backlogs. Combined, the two giants are sitting on roughly 15,000 undelivered aircraft, equivalent to more than a decade of production at current rates.
Boeing kicked off the show with commitments covering nearly 150 jets. The U.S. planemaker secured a firm order from SMBC Aviation Capital for 100 Boeing 737 MAX jets, and a letter of intent from Philippine Airlines for up to 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Airbus, for its part, announced deals for A320neo family jets and A350 widebodies.
Despite the flurry of announcements, the sheer size of the order books means winnowing down the backlog is now the overriding concern. According to aviation data firm IBA, the total number of aircraft contracts and commitments disclosed during this year’s Farnborough could reach 875, the highest in several years and well above the 601 recorded at Paris Air Show 2025 and 438 at Farnborough 2024. It still falls short of the all-time record of 1,338 set at Paris Air Show 2023.
Production bottlenecks take centre stage
This year, analysts and investors are paying closer attention to industrial capability than to new contracts. Airbus continues to struggle with limited availability of engines and components, while Boeing is still rebuilding trust after quality issues and delays to its flagship programs. For Boeing, regaining certification authority for the 737 and 787 models is a positive signal, but the company must simultaneously ramp up output, complete certification of delayed 737 MAX variants, and prepare the 777X for market entry.
The competitive edge, observers say, will go to whichever manufacturer stabilises its assembly lines first and delivers aircraft on time to customers.
Mixed financial picture behind the headlines
In the previous fiscal year, Airbus delivered 793 commercial aircraft, short of its original target of 820. Revenue rose 6% to 73.4 billion euros, while net profit jumped 23% to a record 5.2 billion euros. Boeing, meanwhile, reported revenue of 89.46 billion U.S. dollars, a 34% increase over 2024. The U.S. giant posted operating profit of 4.28 billion dollars and net profit of 2.24 billion dollars, swinging from a net loss of 11.83 billion dollars a year earlier. Commercial aircraft deliveries grew from 348 to 600 units.
However, Boeing’s results were boosted by about 9.67 billion dollars in one-time gains from the sale of its Digital Aviation Solutions unit. The core commercial aircraft business still posted an operating loss of 7.08 billion dollars, underlining the challenge of turning order books into profitable deliveries.
Źródło: wnp.pl, Fot. Adam Sierak / PTWP
