A Boeing Co. 737 Max airplane at the company’s manufacturing facility in Renton, Washington, US, on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025.

David Ryder | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Boeing logged net orders for 1,173 airplanes last year, marking the first time it outsold its European rival Airbus since 2018, the latest sign of Boeing’s recovery.

Boeing handed over 63 jetliners to customers last month, bringing its annual delivery total to 600 aircraft, the most in seven years, before two deadly crashes and a host of other problems derailed its output. Forty-four of those deliveries were 737 Maxes, Boeing said Tuesday.

Airbus still delivered more aircraft last year than Boeing, with 793, though that sum is below the record 863 airplanes the European manufacturer handed over in 2019. Airbus had 889 net orders for 2025.

Engine and other supply chain issues continue to hold up aircraft deliveries. Deliveries are key for airplane manufacturers because airlines pay the bulk of a jet’s price when they receive the plane.

Boeing’s net orders last month totaled 174 planes, including more than 100 737 Maxes for Alaska Airlines, which the Seattle carrier announced last week. Delta Air Lines earlier Tuesday said it ordered at least 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, its first for the wide-body plane. Deliveries are starting in the early 2030s, a sign of how airlines are locking in delivery slots into the next decade to replace older jets and grow.

Boeing executives are scheduled to discuss the manufacturer’s production plan when the company reports quarterly results on Jan. 27.

Read more CNBC airline news

The post Boeing outsells Airbus in 2025 for first time since 2018 appeared first on Our Story Insight.

The economy cabin of American Airlines A321XLR.

Leslie Josephs/CNBC

American Airlines on Thursday flew the first customers on a skinny, long-range plane that it hopes will change air travel. The airline’s head of network planning now has to decide where else it should fly.

The first Airbus A321XLR for a U.S. airline took off from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Thursday at about noon ET, bound for Los Angeles International Airport.

The XLR stands for extra long range, and with the ability to go up to 4,700 nautical miles, the plane can fly much farther than cross-country, though New York to Los Angeles is a highly lucrative route.

Read more CNBC airline news

American will focus on routes to smaller European cities from its Philadelphia hub or from New York City that might not warrant the planes in its fleet that are larger and more expensive to operate, like a Boeing 777 or Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

American’s senior vice president of network and schedule planning, Brian Znotins, suggested in an interview with CNBC that he is considering destinations like Bordeaux and Marseille in France; Oslo, Norway; Stockholm; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Mallorca and Seville in Spain.

“It really opens up the menu for all these destinations that are just too small for a widebody,” Znotins said.

The airline will debut the planes in Europe starting in March with a nonstop flight from New York to Edinburgh, Scotland.

American Airlines A321XLR.

Courtesy: American Airlines

Airlines are increasingly turning to smaller planes for longer, nonstop flights. JetBlue Airways said it would push its Airbus A321LR — a plane that sits between a regular 321neo and an XLR, for flights to Barcelona, Spain, and Milan next year. The XLR first debuted on American’s partner, Spanish airline Iberia, in November 2024.

Premium seats

American rolled out its new interior and configuration for the jets with the first flight Thursday.

The carrier is focusing heavily on premium seats that will take up a fifth of the plane as its executives try to catch up to more profitable rivals Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. Those two airlines in the first nine months of the year together accounted for nearly 98% of the profits of the four biggest U.S. carriers — which also include American and Southwest Airlines.

American Airlines’ Airbus A321XLR features 20 business-class suites with lie-flat seats.

Leslie Josephs/CNBC

Unlike American’s Airbus 321T that has 102 seats and separate first-class and business-class cabins, the 321XLRs will have 155 seats: 20 in business class, 12 in premium economy and 123 in main cabin. That is still fewer than the standard Airbus A321s that are in American’s fleet and have 190 seats.

The new interior, with dark blue and caramel hues, is meant as an “ode to Americana,” said Rhonda Crawford, American’s senior vice president of customer experience design, who previously worked at Delta.

The privacy doors on the suites, however, won’t be able to be closed until early next year because of a certification hold up, an issue that has delayed deliveries of new planes as airlines seek more and more premium seating.

American ordered 50 of the XLR jets in 2019. The carrier said it expects to have 40 XLRs by the end of the decade. United also has the planes on order and expects to receive the first next year.

American retired its Boeing 757s and 767s, planes used often for international routes, during the pandemic and is now looking to rethink its network, while United — and Delta to a lesser degree — held onto older long-range jets.

American has also been increasing its investment in cabin refreshes and larger lounges. The airline said Wednesday that it will revamp its Admirals Club at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to grow seating by 50%.

As it makes those investments, the company’s executives are now trying to balance spending money — on items including new lounges and Champagne — with making money.

The American Airlines Airbus A321XLR premium economy cabin has 12 seats.

Leslie Josephs/CNBC

“You’re not going to close the margin gap by just continuing to drive only cost,” Nat Pieper, American’s newly appointed chief commercial officer and a longtime airline executive, told CNBC. “Is American going to spend more to be able to go chase premium revenue and improve our top line? Yes, we are, but let’s do it smartly.”

Meanwhile, American this week it quietly killed the ability for customers on its cheapest tickets, basic economy, to earn frequent flyer miles and status-earning Loyalty Points.

American was the first of the U.S. carriers to place an order for the XLRs more than six years ago. The planes have an extra fuel tank that gives them longer range, ushering in an era of leaner flying for long routes that can easily top eight hours, and testing passengers’ willingness to take a smaller jet.

The 321XLR also shows how airplane manufacturers Airbus and Boeing have continued to build upon older designs of aircraft over creating an all-new plane.

hklotto

The post Here’s what’s inside American’s new long-range Airbus A321 XLR appeared first on Our Story Insight.