PARIS (Reuters) – Airbus delivered 766 airliners in 2024 and looks set to retain its aircraft industry leadership for a sixth year as archrival Boeing (NYSE:) cautiously recovers from a protracted domestic crisis, company data showed on Thursday.
The European aircraft maker fell slightly short of its main target of around 770 aircraft but was expected to claim victory, leaving room for error as global supply chains continue to be strained by parts and labor shortages.
The widely tracked deliveries, confirming preliminary data of 766 planes reported by Reuters, marked a slowdown in Airbus’s industrial recovery from the pandemic, with annual growth more than halved to 4% from 11% a year earlier.
Although Boeing has yet to report full-year data, a cautious ramp-up in deliveries and regulatory restrictions following the mid-air crash of an Alaska Airlines plane a year ago have already left an insurmountable gap between Boeing and Airbus deliveries in 2024.
But analysts say the two aircraft makers continue to compete aggressively for new orders.
Airbus placed 878 gross orders, or a total of 826 orders after cancellations, down 61% from 2023’s record year. By the end of November, Boeing had 370 net orders after cancellations.