Boeing delivered 53 commercial aircraft in July, representing a 17% decline from the 64 it handed over in the month prior. However, the headline disguises a stronger year-on-year performance. Boeing delivered 48 aircraft in July 2025, meaning last month’s total was roughly 10% higher and indicative of the steadily increasing production rates of the Boeing 737 MAX.
July also followed Boeing’s strongest first half since 2018, during which it delivered 314 aircraft. Adding July takes its 2026 total to 367, compared with 328 at the same point last year — an increase of almost 12%. However, the US manufacturer still lags its arch-rival significantly, with Airbus having delivered 67 aircraft during the same month.
Boeing’s July Deliveries Were Still Up On Last Year
Boeing’s 737 MAX remained its biggest-volume product, with 39 deliveries, comprising 32 Boeing 737 MAX 8s and seven Boeing 737 MAX 9s. This included ten MAX-family aircraft for leading customer, United Airlines. Boeing also handed over ten Dreamliners — nine 787-9s and one 787-10 — together with three Boeing 767s and one Boeing 777F Freighter. That meant that narrowbodies accounted for almost three-quarters of Boeing’s July deliveries.
The comparison shows where the 17% decline came from. Boeing delivered 14 widebodies in July, down from 21 in June, accounting for the bulk of the month-on-month drop. It is also worth noting that the 64 deliveries in June were Boeing’s highest monthly total of 2026, boosted by an unusually strong 21 widebody handovers. This included 13 Dreamliners as Boeing cleared some of its production backlog, led by no less than five Boeing 787-9s that were handed over to Riyadh Air.
It’s the year-on-year improvement that actually matters more to Boeing’s broader recovery. Through seven months, Boeing has now delivered 367 aircraft, including 279 MAXs and 50 Dreamliners, which is 39 more aircraft than at the same point in 2025. Reuters reports that the higher delivery numbers are also helping Boeing financially: its stronger second quarter helped generate $631 million of positive free cash flow, its first positive quarterly result on that measure since 2023.
Airbus Still Leads As Boeing Ramps Up Production
Boeing’s year-on-year improvement is notable, coming on the heels of the news in late May that it met the requirements to increase production of its best-selling narrowbody from 42 to 47 aircraft per month. While this won’t have had a material impact on July deliveries, it signals continued growth for the remainder of the year, with Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg saying:
“It’ll probably take us a few months of stabilization there. … My guess is we continue to go up in rate. It may take a little bit longer, but we’re off and rolling now for the 47-a-month rate, and we should be there in the next couple months.”
However, this is still a long way back from catching up to Airbus. The European manufacturer delivered 67 aircraft in July, taking its seven-month total to 418 compared with Boeing’s 367. Notably, Airbus’ monthly deliveries for July also fell from a peak of 89 deliveries in June, meaning both manufacturers recorded substantially lower handovers after a particularly strong month.
The difference between the two manufacturers is even larger on orders. Airbus booked 204 gross orders in July and 1,090 through the first seven months, while Boeing recorded 38 gross orders in July and 483 year-to-date. Boeing’s headline Farnborough deal — SMBC Aviation Capital’s order for 100 737 MAXs — does not appear in its July figure because the aircraft had already been entered into Boeing’s books in June as an unidentified customer.
More important for future deliveries is Boeing’s production ramp. While the manufacturer is accelerating 737 output toward 47 aircraft per month, it has a further planned increase to 52 per month targeted for early 2027. Boeing also started operating its fourth MAX final assembly line at Everett last month, although that isn’t expected to contribute to higher production rates until next year. Dreamliner production has meanwhile stabilized at around eight aircraft per month, with Boeing targeting to raise it to ten later this year.
Boeing’s 737 surge beat a supply-constrained Airbus in a rare quarterly delivery win.
Riyadh Air’s Fast-Growing Fleet Was A Highlight
Few customers illustrate Boeing’s current delivery push better than Riyadh Air, which received another two 787-9s in July. Considering that the carrier took delivery of its first two examples in early June, it means that it has put seven Dreamliners into service in less than 50 days.
Its future Boeing fleet is set to become considerably larger. At the Farnborough International Airshow 2026, Riyadh Air exercised options for another 28 Dreamliners, with 20 switched to the larger Boeing 787-10. This takes the carrier’s firm Dreamliner order to 67 aircraft, as it expands rapidly to serve more than 100 destinations by 2030.
Another particularly notable July delivery went to National Airlines, which received its third (of four) new-build 777 Freighters on July 30. The aircraft, N795CA, immediately entered service on a charter mission to the Middle East. Meanwhile, its sister ship, N792CA (delivered in May), completed what is widely reported as the longest commercial cargo flight ever flown by a Boeing 777 Freighter earlier this week.
Overall, July actually looks considerably healthier once the headline 17% month-on-month decline is put into context. Boeing delivered more MAXs, more Dreamliners and more aircraft overall than it did in July 2025, while its year-to-date tally is almost 12% higher. Boeing’s next test is whether higher MAX and 787 production can translate into consistently stronger monthly handovers through the remainder of 2026.
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