Boeing rebuilds backlog after 737 Max and pandemic crises

The company’s orderbook has particularly swelled since early 2025 amid strong demand for 737s and 787s.
Boeing’s commercial aircraft backlog now includes some 2,300 more aircraft orders now than it did during the depths of the twin coronavirus and 737 Max crises in 2020, reflecting a recovery that has particularly picked up steam in the last two years.

The US manufacturing giant ended September holding for orders for 6,371 aircraft, including 4,537 737s, 74 767s, 632 777s and 1,128 787s, it said on 14 October.

Its backlog has increased steadily in recent years, driven largely by strong demand for its 737 Max and 787, and to a lesser degree for its not-yet-certificated 777-9 and 777-8 Freighter.

Boeing is not alone in riding a wave of demand; Airbus, too, has seen its backlog climb. The European manufacturer held orders for 9,310 aircraft at the end of September, some 2,100 more than at end-2020.

But Boeing faced a longer climb back to normality, having been hammered not only by the pandemic but also quality issues and the Max grounding.

Ten years ago, at the end of 2016, Boeing’s backlog stood at 5,715 aircraft. But the orderbook fell off precipitously starting in 2018, when the first of two 737 Max jets crashed. The order erosion continued through 2020, which Boeing ended holding orders for 4,055 jets.

The recovery has not come quickly or easily. Boeing had hoped for a fast resolution to the 737 Max grounding but did not manage to convince the Federal Aviation Administration of the jet’s airworthiness until November 2020, when the agency lifted what had been a 20-month flight ban. By that time, the Covid-19 pandemic was raging, depressing demand for air travel and, hence, for aircraft.

Meanwhile, Boeing suffered repeated quality missteps that primarily affected its 737 and 787 programmes. Notably, workers failed to bolt down a 737 Max 9 door plug during manufacturing, leading the plug to blow out during an Alaska Airlines flight in January 2024. The pilots landed the jet safely.

Since then, however, Boeing has largely been on an upswing. The turnaround coincided with the hiring in 2024 of Kelly Ortberg as chief executive, succeeding David Calhoun.

Ortberg doubled down on efforts to improve quality; he saw Boeing through its acquisition of former 737 fuselage supplier Spirit AeroSystems – a move intended to help Boeing get a handle on Spirit’s own quality shortcomings.

Under Ortberg Boeing has also incrementally increased 737 Max and 787 production rates.

Boeing’s backlog responded, as airlines gained more confidence in the manufacturer. Its order book swelled to 4,578 by end-2022 before jumping to 5,626 by end-2023.

The company has enjoyed notable sales successes since US president Donald Trump started his second term in January 2025. Trump has been a vocal Boeing promoter, pushing trading partners to order jets as part of broader trade negotiations. Those deals saw airlines in numerous countries – Bahrain, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam – sign for Boeing aircraft.

The manufacturer has taken orders for 1,838 aircraft since January 2025, including 1,044 737s and 547 787s.

Amid such demand, the company in November revealed plans to build a second 787 production line in North Charleston, South Carolina, a project it says will cost $1 billion and enable it to double output to 20 aircraft monthly.

Amid the order-book boom, Boeing has also sped up its production lines – though such efforts remain constrained by nagging supply chain issues.

It is now working to ramp 737 production from 42 to 47 jets monthly. In July, Boeing brought a second 737 assembly site – in Everett – online. Boeing says that site will eventually allow it to bring 737 production to 52 jets monthly – one shy of the 53 at which Boeing operated at last decade.

Meanwhile, Boeing has said it wants this year to bring 787 production from eight to 10 jets monthly. But progress has been hindered by supplier snags, including shortages of the 787’s GE Aerospace GEnx turbofans.

Boeing will likely disclose more about its planned production rates during its third-quarter earnings call, scheduled for 27 October.

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