Dreamliner deliveries boost Boeing

The acceleration of its Dreamliner programme boosted Boeing’s deliveries in the first half of the year.

The US planemaker is now producing the Boeing 787 at record speed, in an effort to clear a backlog of more than 800 aircraft. Ten B787s are now rolling out the planemaker’s factories every month, but Boeing intends to build up to 14 aircraft per month by 2020, in an effort to satisfy airlines’ demand for fuel-efficient new jets.

In the first half of 2014, Boeing delivered 48 B787s. This was 182% more than the same period last year, although it should be noted that the Dreamliner was grounded for a large chunk of the first half of 2013, due to battery issues.

But now back on track, production of the new twin-aisle B787 matched the popular B777 model in the first half of 2014, with both programmes seeing 48 deliveries. The new B747-8 however, is proving less popular with just six deliveries in the first half of 2014 – just half of H1 2013’s total.

But with the new stretched version of the Dreamliner, the B787-9, expected to start rolling off the production line in the coming months, Boeing will be confident of a strong second half of the year.

By contrast, Airbus delivered 66 wide-body aircraft in the first six months of the year, including 53 A330s and 13 A380s. This means it has fallen behind Boeing in the standard wide-body jet market, but dominates the market for very large, double-decker passenger jets.

And the European planemaker also appears to have stolen a march in lucrative single-aisle sector. Airbus last week unveiled its first A320neo, the new fuel-efficient version of the popular A320. The aircraft is due to enter service by the end of next year, but Boeing’s rival, the B737 MAX, won’t be ready until 2017.

With the Farnborough International Air Show starting in the UK this month, it will be interesting to see which planemaker wins the annual race for new orders.