In a surprising shift, Boeing has had an incredibly strong year despite significant, persistent, aircraft approval delays. Airbus is losing on widebodies.
For the better part of a decade, the commercial aircraft sales narrative has been painfully predictable. Airbus wins orders, Boeing plays defense, and the industry waits for the next headline about certification delays or production problems. That script quietly broke in 2025 (and into the first two weeks of 2026), and unless you were digging through monthly order books, you probably missed just how meaningful the shift has been.
Against expectations, Boeing is winning again. And most importantly, it’s happening in the widebody market.
Boeing’s Order Momentum, By The Numbers
Before getting into the why, it helps to see the scale of what changed. Using publicly released order data from Boeing and Airbus covering January 1, 2025 through the last two weeks (including firm orders and announced options or commitments), here is a like-for-like comparison of the core commercial aircraft families:
| Category | Manufacturer | Aircraft Family | Firm Orders (2025) | Options / Commitments (2025) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single-aisle | Boeing | 737 MAX family | 570 | 120 | Includes Alaska Airlines, flydubai |
| Single-aisle | Airbus | A320neo family | 656 | 140 | A321neo dominates demand |
| Widebody | Boeing | 787 Dreamliner | 368 | 100 | One of strongest Dreamliner sales years |
| Widebody | Boeing | 777 / 777X (incl. freighters) | 170 | 90 | Freighter and long-haul demand |
| Widebody | Airbus | A350 family | 193 | 80 | Orders skew to A350-1000 |
| Widebody | Airbus | A330neo | 100 | 40 | Secondary widebody demand |
Sources: Boeing Orders & Deliveries Summary 2025; Airbus Orders & Deliveries 2025; Paris Air Show and Farnborough order announcements; airline SEC filings and press releases.
This is where the story stops being subtle. Airbus continues to lead narrowly in single-aisle sales, but Boeing is overwhelmingly ahead in widebodies.
The Quiet Comeback Boeing Did Not Advertise
In total, Boeing booked approximately 1,175 gross orders in 2025, translating to just over 1,070 net orders after cancellations. Airbus finished closer to 1,000 gross and under 900 net. That alone would have been unthinkable even two years ago, when Boeing was still struggling through MAX production caps and enhanced FAA oversight. In fact, the 737 MAX 7 & MAX 10 variants still have not been approved by the FAA.
The narrowbody battle remains competitive. Airbus continues to benefit from the runaway success of the A321neo, particularly with long-range variants (XLR) that airlines increasingly use as widebody substitutes on long thin routes. Boeing’s 737 MAX, however, stabilized in a way that mattered. Orders from Alaska Airlines and flydubai were not symbolic, they were confidence statements from airlines willing to double down on Boeing’s future.
But none of that explains the magnitude of Boeing’s advantage.
Does Airbus Have An A350 Sales Problem?
If Airbus has a vulnerability, it lives squarely in the widebody segment.
Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner alone outsold the entire A350 family by a wide margin in 2025. Roughly 368 Dreamliner orders were booked during the year, making it one of the strongest sales periods in the program’s history. Airlines are clearly signaling what they want for long-haul growth: flexibility, range, and economics without stepping into very large aircraft territory.
The 777 family amplified that advantage. Despite well documented delays with the 777X, Boeing continues to benefit from strong freighter demand and long-term commitments from airlines like Qatar Airways. The 777F remains a cornerstone of global cargo fleets, and replacement demand is not going away.
By contrast, the A350 is caught in an awkward middle. The A350-1000 is an excellent aircraft, but it is large, expensive, and not always the right tool for post-pandemic network planning. The A350-900 competes directly with the 787-10 in a space where Boeing increasingly has the upper hand as Delta indicated in its latest order (though speculation is that an Airbus order is still in the works too.)
Airbus does not have a true Dreamliner equivalent in production today, and that gap is showing up in the order books. The A330-900neo fits more closely to short(er) long haul uses like trans-Atlantic routes where the XLR doesn’t fit the bill. But for better economics and greater flexibility, why wouldn’t a carrier go with the 787-8 and the associated cargo uplift? And for carriers trying to operate the largest routes, the new 777X aircraft will fit better than an A350-1000.
Deliveries Still Favor Airbus, For Now
To be clear, Airbus still dominates when it comes to deliveries. In 2025, Airbus delivered just under 800 aircraft, compared to roughly 600 for Boeing. Execution matters, and Airbus continues to operate with fewer production disruptions. But deliveries reflect the present. Orders reflect future confidence.
Airlines do not place widebody orders casually. These are 10 to 20 year decisions, and the current data suggests airlines are more comfortable betting on Boeing’s widebody roadmap than Airbus’s.
Why This Shift Matters
The most important takeaway is not that Boeing “won” 2025. It is that the long-running assumption that Airbus owns the future of commercial aviation no longer holds cleanly. If widebody demand accelerates as international travel continues to normalize, Airbus may be forced to confront an uncomfortable reality. The A321neo can only stretch so far, and the A350 does not cover every use case airlines are now prioritizing. Further, larger aircraft are better for the books. Losing on the single-aisle end of the market still stings, but if you could choose a category to win it would be the widebodies. For an industry that spent years writing Boeing’s obituary, that may be the most surprising development of all.
What do you think?
Boeing finally shed the incompetent GE trained CEOs.
Now they hava CEO who is very competent and NOT from GE.
One horrible decision was to cancel the extremely popular 757 when they could have upgraded the interiors, installed new glass cockpit and hung 2 new generation engines.
Airbus’ A321 now OWNS that market segment.
There are many other failures by these GE people and the BOD is at fault for not firing those 2.
The 787 was years late and more than 15 BILLION over budget.
Kelly Ortberg is the right choice for the position of president and CEO of Boeing.
The B787 Dreamliner supremacy…
This text reads very ChatGPT like,
Additionally, I feel that the 787 has been the most successful wide body for a while now so the analysis seems correct but obvious.
It read fine; what a silly comment.
Boeing has never lost supremacy in the widebody segment. At one time, they offered the 747, 767, 777 and 787.
The 787 was launched well before the A350 and its smaller size favors selling more of them.
Airbus took the strategy of offering the A330NEO and A350 duo. They spent just $2 billion to produce the A330NEO and is approaching 500 orders which makes the A330NEO one of the most profitable widebody programs; and the low cost has allowed Airbus to sell the 339 at rates far below any other widebody and with faster delivery timlines.
The 350 is the longest range and most capable widebody aircraft in service – and the enhancements that Airbus in putting on the A350-1000 will make it the longest range and most economical widebody beating even the 777-200LR.
and Boeing has the 777X coming but they have spent way more on it just as is true with the 787. Boeing lost $1 for every $2 of revenue on its commercial aircraft business.
and of course Airbus has blown Boeing away in the narrowbody segment; there have been more 321NEOs sold than the entire MAX family. and Airbus scored a coup w/ the A220.
Both companies build great products and are expanding production across their entire product lines. Boeing has had enormous problems for years which Airbus has not had and as Boeing works off its backlog of delayed deliveries, it is in position to take large orders again.
And for airline passengers, there should be an increase in older aircraft retirements and an influx of new aircraft over the next 5 years.
A few years ago, there were news reporting that Boeing studied an increase gross weight of B787-10 thus range could be extended a few hundred miles. Does Boeing finally have something concrete to offer, thus UAL convert some B787-9 order to B787-10? And Delta finally make up the mind and order 787-10?
@Tony, “Boeing studied an increase gross weight of B787-10 thus range could be extended a few hundred miles. Does Boeing finally have something concrete to offer, thus UAL convert some B787-9 order to B787-10? ”
UA begins receiving the 787-9 IGW (+14,000 lbs, 1 hour +) in a month or so. The 787-10 IGW (+12,000lbs, 1 hour) is almost certified. UA selected 56 787-10 IGWs of the remaining 120 787s on order.
Total WB orders (post 767/A330CEO) – freighters
777: 2,039 A330NEOs: ..472
787: 2,325 A350XXXs: 1,448
BA: 4,364 AB: 1,920
UAL currently has fifty-something B777-200ER. The order conversion allows 1 to 1 replacement from 777-200ER to 787-10 IGW.
In the future, we might see B787-10 IGW to service SFO-Taipei or ORD-Tokyo routes.
You forgot to include A220 orders for Airbus, which were around 60 or so, I believe.
Admittedly, these are also narrow body, so the main point of your article remains valid.
As a passenger I really prefer Airbus products. Noise and air pressure are the biggest things. Not sure if anyone else feels this way.
I always feel drier when I get off a 8+hr Boeing flight than A350
It seems like Airbus has better noise insulation and feels quieter when flying.
The windows are positioned normally for looking at the ground from a window seat (787 always felt hight for me)
787s use electric air compressors to pressurize the cabin while the 350 uses engine bleed air like other airliners so it is susceptible to contamination and fume events. 787 air is clean.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fume_event