Boeing

Boeing Commercial Airplane Group retained its market-leading position in 1997, out pacing the competition in gross orders, net orders, order value and deliveries.

Boeing, the world's most successful manufacturer of commercial jetliners, concluded the year with 568 announced orders valued at $42.8 billion, compared with 460 gross firm orders worth $29.6 billion, reported for 1997 by Airbus Industrie.

For 1997, net orders (gross orders minus cancellations and conversions to other models) totaled 502 airplanes valued at $39.1 billion, compared with Airbus' total of 438 net orders worth $27.8 billion, according to preliminary data. Historically, Boeing has based order-related market share calculations on the value of net orders.

"Our customers demonstrated their confidence in Boeing products by voting for us with their dollars," said Ron Woodard, president -- Boeing Commercial Airplane Group. "Industry leadership is something we do not take for granted. We are working very hard to listen to our customers so that we can develop and deliver quality, cost-effective products that meet their needs."

Development of new Boeing products in response to customer demand -- such as the best-selling Next-Generation 737 family and the new extended-range 767-400ER -- was a key to the company's continuing market leadership in 1997.

In November, Alaska Airlines launched the 737-900, the newest and longest member of the Next-Generation 737 family, with an order for 10 of the single-aisle airplanes and options for 10 more. Cumulative orders for the Next-Generation 737 family of airplanes, which was launched in late 1993, now stand at 752; the total orders for all 737 models has reached 3,884.

Customer demand also led to expansion of the 767 family. In March, Delta Airlines launched production of a new derivative with an order for 21 767-400ERs, a long-range twinjet sized between the 767-300 and 777-200. The launch order was part of the year's largest order, a 106-jetliner deal worth $6.7 billion. By year's end there were 56 firm orders for the 767-400ER.

Boeing delivered 375 jetliners in 1997; Airbus reported delivering 182. Using a measure that accounts for the varying size and seat-capacity of jetliners, Boeing delivered 94,643 seats in 1997, compared with 37,555 by Airbus.

Boeing Commercial Airplane Group took orders from 52 customers in 1997. In addition to Delta's $6.7 billion order, other large orders in 1997 included a $3 billion order from China for 50 Boeing jetliners; a $2.5 billion order from Turkish Airlines for 26 Boeing jetliners with options for 23 more; and a 61-plane order from ILFC.

Additional detail chart information is available.

Information on Boeing Orders and Deliveries.