Boeing 2013 Jet Deliveries Soar to Record After 787’s Grounding

Boeing Co . reported record jet deliveries for 2013 as the world’s largest planemaker sped the production tempo of its 787 Dreamliner after battery fires grounded the aircraft for three months early in the year.

Boeing handed over 648 planes, a 7.8 percent increase from 2012, and the most ever in a single year, according to a statement today. The Chicago-based company delivered 65 Dreamliners in 2013, up from 46 in the previous year.

Aircraft sales and output are surging as carriers globally take advantage of low-cost financing to replace older models with newer, fuel-sipping jets. Boeing’s 1,355 net orders for the year were the second-highest annual sales tally, and an increase from the 1,338 a year earlier .

While Airbus SAS has yet to release 2013 results, combined commercial sales for the two biggest planemakers could reach about 2,800 orders worth about $250 billion, :S:d1&partialfields=-wnnis:NOAVSYND&lr=-lang_ja"> Howard Rubel , an aerospace analyst with Jefferies Inc., wrote in a Jan. 3 report.

Boeing halted deliveries of the 787 after regulators ordered the global fleet grounded as they and the planemaker investigated electrical system issues that caused lithium-ion batteries to smolder on two of the jets.

After satisfying regulators and customers with its safety fixes, Boeing accelerated the 787’s production rate with a goal of reaching 10 jets a month by year’s end. That’s the highest-ever output for a wide-body aircraft model.

To contact the reporter on this story: Julie Johnsson in Chicago at jjohnsson@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Ed Dufner at edufner@bloomberg.net