en.Wedoany.com Reported - Boeing's 737 MAX series has accumulated a backlog of 7,206 orders, making it the best-selling model in the company's history. With the MAX 10 and MAX 7 models nearing the final stages of certification, Boeing is restoring full production capacity after the model experienced the longest global fleet grounding in aviation history. Although Boeing still lags significantly behind Airbus's A320 family in backlog orders, this sales figure is a positive signal in its bid to reclaim the title of the best-selling commercial aircraft in history, a title that was taken by the A320 at the end of 2025.
The 737 MAX was Boeing's fastest-selling aircraft when it launched in 2011, but its performance has been sluggish since fatal accidents occurred two years after entering service and a mid-air door plug blowout in 2024. Now, Boeing is poised for its best year in nearly a decade in 2026, with its narrowbody business stabilizing and beginning to recover toward historical targets. Boeing has spent years overhauling assembly lines, integrating suppliers to ensure quality, and reshaping its corporate culture around safety. According to The Seattle Times, the 737 MAX received 100 orders in June, surpassing its predecessor, the 737 Next Generation, to become Boeing's best-selling model.
Boeing received approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) at the end of 2025 to increase the delivery rate of the 737 MAX, plans to further boost deliveries this year, and aims to reach 53 aircraft per month by early 2027. Boeing President and CEO Kelly Ortberg stated in the first-quarter earnings press release in April that the company is building on strong momentum, with a record backlog of orders, while supporting customers and increasing production to fulfill commitments, aiming to re-establish itself as a leading, iconic global aerospace company.
The crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 claimed 346 lives. Boeing has fixed the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), which caused both aircraft to lose control and crash due to erroneous autopilot inputs. Since the subsequent 20-month global grounding and the ensuing corporate crisis, Boeing estimates losses of approximately $20 billion. To save its critical narrowbody aircraft, the company integrated its supply chain by reabsorbing Spirit AeroSystems, which manufactures 70% of the aircraft's structure and was responsible for the mid-air door plug blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight in 2024. Boeing recently opened a new $1 billion automated production line in Everett, Washington. Fifteen years later, the latest generation of the 737 has finally become a fully mature production program.
Despite Boeing's internal milestones in its commercial aviation division, Airbus has shifted the balance in the single-aisle aircraft market over the past few years. On October 7, 2025, the A320 was officially crowned the best-selling commercial aircraft in history, with deliveries reaching 12,260 units. For Boeing to catch up with its European rival, it needs to maximize production potential to boost deliveries and drive sales. Across the Atlantic, the Airbus A320neo family also has a massive backlog. The A321neo alone has received 7,769 orders, surpassing the entire 737 MAX family. Combining all variants, the A320neo family has secured a total of 12,104 orders to date.
