Airbus delivered 136 planes in first quarter, edging out Boeing

Airbus SE delivered 136 commercial aircraft in the first quarter, enough to edge out Boeing Co. after stepping up its pace of handovers in March.

March deliveries totaled 71 jets, Airbus said Wednesday in a statement, to customers including China Eastern Airlines and United Airlines Holdings Inc. That’s up from 63 in the year-ago period and more than the total of 65 the planemaker shipped in the first two months of the year.  

The late burst gave Airbus the delivery lead for the first quarter of 2025, after trailing its US rival in January and February. The European planemaker has out-produced Boeing for years, but the US company has made strides in improving output while Airbus has struggled with supplier shortfalls. 

Boeing on Tuesday reported 130 aircraft deliveries for the first quarter, its best performance in over a year.

More pain may be in store for both after the US unleashed tariffs on scores of countries, throwing global supplier links into uncertainty.

Demand has suddenly also become a question mark: on Wednesday, Delta Air Lines Inc. said it won’t pay any tariff costs on Airbus planes it imports, raising a point of potential contention with the planemaker’s biggest customers.

Airbus said it secured 211 gross orders last month, to customers including Jackson Square Aviation and BOC Aviation. As of March 30 its backlog stood at 24,825 aircraft.