Boeing tops Airbus in 2025 orders with help from Gulf carriers

• Outpaces Airbus for first time since 2018
• UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi orders lift Boeing
• European planemaker leads on deliveries

Orders from the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia helped lift Boeing ahead of Airbus in global aircraft sales last year, the first time the US planemaker has outpaced its European competitor since 2018.

The US aircraft manufacturer signed deals to sell 1,075 commercial jets in 2025, while its European competitor took 889 orders.

Boeing, which reported its totals for the past 12 months yesterday, saw deliveries increase to 600 units, up 72 percent annually. Airbus, which also disclosed its figures this week, still delivered more planes overall, at 793.

Gulf carriers ordered a combined 267 passenger jets from Boeing in 2025 and received 41 deliveries from previous purchases, according to the latest figures from the company’s website.

Emirati budget airline Flydubai signed up for 75 Boeing 737 MAX narrow-body aircraft at the Dubai Airshow in November, with an option to buy 75 additional units. 

At the same event, Dubai-based airline Emirates agreed to acquire 65 wide-body Boeing 777-9s and Bahrain-based Gulf Air finalised a July order for 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, another long-haul plane.

Carriers from the Gulf and wider Middle East are experiencing a “new era of growth and modernisation”, Boeing said in a news release during the airshow, noting that the regional commercial airplane fleet is projected to more than double in the next two decades. 

Local airlines will need a rough total of 1,400 new widebody and single-aisle jets by 2044, according to the US manufacturer. 

Qatar Airways was also among the Gulf-based airlines that placed orders with Boeing last year, with a deal to purchase between 160 and 210 widebody planes announced in mid-May during US President Donald Trump’s visit to the region. 

During the same trip, Boeing received its first direct order from Saudi Arabia-headquartered aircraft leasing company AviLease, for 20 737-8s with an option for 10 more.

The White House called it the “largest ever order” for that category of aircraft. 

Further reading:

• Gulf airlines foresee further delays from Airbus and Boeing
• Emirates kicks off race between Airbus and Boeing for bigger jets
• Delayed Airbus deliveries a ‘bit of indigestion’ for Flyadeal

Over the past several years, Boeing has struggled with far-reaching safety problems and delays, but has been working to turn things around under president and CEO Kelly Ortberg, who was appointed in the summer of 2024.

Airbus also had to push back some deliveries in 2025 amid the discovery of a design flaw in a supplier’s fuselage panels and issues in securing engines.

Analysts told AGBI in June that Boeing was increasingly in a position to meet its commitments to Gulf-based carriers over the long run.

The company’s leadership is set to discuss the 2025 financial performance and 2026 outlook on January 27.