Boeing beats rival Airbus in battle to deliver most aircraft

Planemaker Boeing has beaten big rival Airbus in the battle to deliver the most aircraft in 2014.

Seattle-based Boeing delivered a record 723 commercial planes last year, while Airbus — whose planes’ wings are made in the UK — delivered 629.

Toulouse-based Airbus could console itself with the fact that its delivery total for 2014 was an all-time high and was the company’s 13th successive year of growth.

In 2014, Boeing booked 1,432 net orders while Airbus’s equivalent figure was 1,456. Boeing commercial airplanes president and chief executive Ray Conner described the company’s performance last year as “truly unprecedented”.

Airbus president and chief executive Fabrice Bregier said 2014 had been “an excellent year”.