Boeing’s Long-Awaited Recovery Is Entering Its Most Critical Phase Yet
It’s hard to lose a duopoly, but Boeing has been giving it a serious shot. Crashes, production failures, and ~$50B in debt left the jetmaker badly off course. However, under new CEO Kelly Ortberg, there’s finally a credible path back — though it runs through a high-stakes diplomatic trip and a generational aircraft decision.
- China, the second-largest aircraft market, is weighing a ~500-jet order — its first major Boeing commitment in nearly a decade, timed to Trump’s state visit this week.
- It comes as Ortberg shelved a $1.5B NASA-backed experimental program — even after out-ordering rival Airbus in 2025, the first time since 2018.
The ascent: Boeing’s backlog now tops 6K planes, and it even generated cash last year, but the test is still ahead. Key technology selections for a 737 successor are expected next year, just as Airbus plots its own next-gen narrowbody. Between the two, a carrier lifts off every two seconds, and a loss of trust could prove catastrophic for either manufacturer. Boeing knows what’s at stake, and as one former Airbus executive warned, “This industry is not a straight line,” and “is full of people who … got obliterated.”
