Boeing has reclaimed the top spot in commercial aviation deliveries for the first time since before the 737 MAX crisis — handing over 190 aircraft through the end of April 2026, nine more than Airbus’s 181 over the same period.
The gap is narrow, but the symbolism isn’t. Airbus had outdelivered Boeing in every quarter and every full year since the MAX grounding that followed the 2018–2019 crashes, which killed 346 people. Boeing’s first quarter — 143 jets, its best Q1 for narrowbody deliveries since 2018 — established the lead. April held it.
April Numbers — Airbus’s Best Month of 2026
Airbus actually won April. The manufacturer delivered 67 aircraft to 39 customers, its strongest single month of the year. Narrowbodies carried the result: 60 single-aisle jets went out the door, among them 55 A320neo family aircraft and five A220-300s. IndiGo led all customers with five A321neo deliveries. On the widebody side, seven aircraft departed — four A350s (three -900s and one -1000) and three A330s.
Boeing’s April was about mix, not volume. Thirty-four narrowbodies left the factory floor, all 737 MAX variants — 30 MAX 8s and four MAX 9s. The widebody slate added 13 more: six 787 Dreamliners, three 777 Freighters, and four 767s split between three -2C variants and one -300F freighter.
A few individual deliveries stood out. On May 3, EgyptAir took its first 737-8, leased from SMBC Aviation Capital — the first 737 MAX to enter service in Egypt. A week earlier, on April 24, Air Canada received its first A321XLR at Airbus’s Hamburg facility, registered C-GXLR, becoming the first Canadian operator of the type. The aircraft seats 182 in a two-class layout, including 14 lie-flat Signature Class beds arranged in a 1-1 configuration and 168 Economy seats.
Boeing’s Order Intake — Nearly Double Q1’s Total in One Month
The delivery numbers were only part of the story. Boeing recorded 136 gross orders in April, including 57 737 MAX aircraft — nearly double its entire first-quarter order total, in a single month.
Two deals drove the headline figure. On April 28, Copa Airlines signed for 40 737 MAX jets with options for 20 more.
“This major order builds on more than 40 years of partnership with Copa and the airline’s history of success with the Boeing 737 family,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stephanie Pope.
The following day, on April 29, Kazakhstan’s SCAT Airlines confirmed a firm order for five additional 737-9s and converted five previously ordered 737-8s to the larger variant, pointing to expanded European route ambitions as the rationale.
Production Ramp and the FAL at Everett
Boeing is currently building 42 737s per month. Plans are in place to push that to 47, pending FAA approval expected later in 2026. A fourth 737 final assembly line — the first narrowbody FAL at Everett, Washington, a facility historically reserved for widebodies — is targeted to come online by summer 2026. The long-term goal is 63 MAX deliveries per month. The 737 MAX 10 is also advancing through certification; the FAA has authorized Type Inspection Authorization 2, though analysts don’t expect meaningful MAX 10 deliveries before late 2026.
Airbus Backlog and the Pratt Problem
Airbus’s backlog stood at 8,971 aircraft as of April 30, down 60 from March. The company has reaffirmed full-year 2026 guidance of approximately 870 deliveries, but it’s running behind pace. Narrowbody production-to-delivery lead times stretched to 31 days in April, up from 24 in March — the culprit being A320neo family bottlenecks tied directly to engine supply. CEO Guillaume Faury has not been subtle about where he places the blame.
“Pratt & Whitney’s failure to commit to the number of engines ordered by Airbus is negatively impacting this year’s guidance for aircraft deliveries,” Faury said at the presentation of Airbus’s FY2025 results in February 2026.
Boeing, by contrast, converted 93.2% of produced aircraft to deliveries across all programs. The 737 MAX led internally at a 94.6% conversion rate.
What to Watch
The big wildcard is China. Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg confirmed on the Q1 earnings call that a potential order of up to 500 737 MAX jets — reported by Bloomberg in March — is “100% dependent” on U.S.-China relations and the outcome of any Trump-Xi engagement. If that deal materializes, it would reshape Boeing’s backlog picture dramatically. Monthly delivery tallies will tell the story as both manufacturers push into the summer production ramp.
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