AirAdvisor+ launches soon
Get up to €10,800 for a disrupted trip
Automatic protection. No claims. No waiting.
By joing, I agree to receive product updates. Opt-out anytime. Privacy Policy
Boeing Aircraft Prices Statistics: Trends to Watch in 2026
A new Boeing 737 MAX 8 carries a sticker price north of $120 million. Almost no airline pays it. The published price and the real price of a jet now live in different worlds, and Boeing stopped printing the sticker at all after 2019.
Aircraft prices shape the fares you pay, the routes an airline can afford to open, and whether a struggling carrier can buy new jets or must nurse older ones. When the official numbers disappear, travellers and journalists lose an easy yardstick. This article rebuilds one from Boeing's last published list, current appraiser values, lease rates, and the order backlog.
Key Boeing Aircraft Price Statistics at a Glance
- Boeing's last published list price for a 737 MAX 8 was $121.6 million, set in 2019 and never updated.
Source: Boeing published list prices, 2019 - A new 737 MAX 8 was appraised at roughly $55 million in mid-2025, about 55 percent below its old list price.
Source: IBA and Cirium aircraft valuations, mid-2025 - Airbus disclosed that airlines get about 50 percent off list on average, the origin of the industry rule to divide the list by two.
Source: Airbus catalogue-price disclosure, 2019 - Discounts of 40 to 60 percent off list are normal, with launch customers and large fleet orders securing even deeper cuts.
Source: AirInsight aircraft pricing analysis, 2024 - The 787-9 carried a $292.5 million list price in 2019, the most expensive current-production Dreamliner variant.
Source: Boeing published list prices, 2019 - A new 787-9 was worth about $151 million in mid-2025, roughly 48 percent below its 2019 list.
Source: IBA and Cirium aircraft valuations, mid-2025 - An older 787-9 fell to around $71 million in market value, less than half the price of a new one.
Source: IBA and Cirium aircraft valuations, mid-2025 - A new 737 MAX 8 leased for about $400,000 a month in 2025, the price that actually lands on an airline's books.
Source: IBA and Cirium lease-rate data, 2025 - 787-9 monthly lease rates ran from $695,000 to about $1.075 million, depending on age and demand.
Source: IBA and Cirium lease-rate data, 2025 - Boeing's commercial backlog reached $567 billion by the end of 2025, up from $460 billion at the start of the year.
Source: Boeing quarterly results, 2025 - Total company backlog hit a record $682 billion at the end of 2025.
Source: Boeing fourth-quarter results, 2025 - Boeing held more than 6,100 commercial aircraft on order at the end of 2025, up from over 5,600 a year earlier.
Source: Boeing quarterly results, 2025 - Boeing delivered 160 commercial jets in the third quarter of 2025, its best quarter since 2018.
Source: Boeing third-quarter results, 2025 - The 777-9 topped the 2019 list at $442.2 million, the highest sticker of any Boeing jet.
Source: Boeing published list prices, 2019 - The 777X program has absorbed about $15 billion in charges, with first delivery now slipping to 2027, seven years late.
Source: Boeing program disclosures and reporting, 2025-2026 - Widebody values have risen an average of 11.6 percent since 2021 as long-haul demand returned.
Source: IBA widebody value analysis, August 2025
Boeing has not published a list price since 2019, so every catalogue figure here is a frozen 2019 number. Market values, lease rates and any 50 percent estimate are indicative and move with demand. Treat them as direction, not a quote.
Where the Sticker Prices Landed in 2019
Boeing put out a full catalogue price list every year until 2019, then quietly retired it, following Airbus out the door. That final sheet is now the only official Boeing price list in existence, frozen in time.
Source: Boeing published list prices, 2019 (compiled from Boeing catalogue data). Boeing discontinued list-price publication after 2019 and has not updated these figures since.
The spread is enormous. A single-aisle 737 MAX 7 listed at $99.7 million, while the twin-aisle 777-9 topped the sheet at $442.2 million, more than four times as much. Because Boeing has never revised these numbers, read them as a historical baseline rather than a live price. For the wider picture on fleets and demand, see our airline industry insights.
List Price vs What a Jet Is Actually Worth
Appraisers such as IBA, Cirium and Ascend value aircraft continuously for the banks and lessors that finance them. Their numbers show how far real value sits below the old catalogue.
Source: IBA and Cirium aircraft valuations, mid-2025. Market value is the appraised value of a new airframe, not a negotiated order price.
A new 737 MAX 8 that once listed at $121.6 million was appraised near $55 million in mid-2025, about 55 percent below its old sticker. The 787-9, the most sought-after widebody, sits close to $151 million against a $292.5 million list. That gap blends discounting, depreciation and the plain difference between a catalogue and a market.
The Rule of Thumb: Divide by Two
Insiders use a shortcut for guessing a real order price: take the list number and halve it. Airbus confirmed the logic in 2019 when it disclosed that airlines received roughly 50 percent off list on average.
Source: Airbus catalogue-price disclosure, 2019; AirInsight aircraft pricing analysis. The half-price column is an illustrative estimate (E), not a quoted transaction. Real discounts range from about 40 to 60 percent.
Halving the list gives a rough floor: about $61 million for a MAX 8 and $146 million for a 787-9. Real deals swing wider, from around 40 percent off for a modest order to 60 percent or more for a launch customer or a hundred-jet fleet deal. Nobody outside the negotiating room knows the exact figure, which is precisely why Boeing and Airbus stopped publishing one.
Your flight was delayed or cancelled?The airline flying that expensive jet may owe you up to 600 euros. Check your flight in two minutes.Check compensation
A Dreamliner Loses Value as It Ages
A jet is not a fixed asset. Its market value falls with age, flight hours and cycles, which is why resale prices and lease rates matter as much as the purchase price.
Source: IBA and Cirium aircraft valuations, mid-2025. New and 20-year endpoints are appraised figures; intermediate points are interpolated for illustration.
A brand-new 787-9 was worth about $151 million in mid-2025; a roughly 20-year-old example around $71 million, less than half. Widebody values have been recovering, up an average of 11.6 percent since 2021 as long-haul demand returned, but age still drives the curve. The same physics explains why fuel efficiency sells jets, a theme we cover in our airline fuel consumption statistics.
Renting a Jet by the Month
Most airlines lease rather than buy jets outright. The monthly lease rate is the price that actually hits an airline's accounts, and it tracks aircraft size and market demand.
Source: IBA and Cirium lease-rate data, 2025. Figures are indicative monthly rates and vary by lessor, term and aircraft condition.
A new 737 MAX 8 leased for about $400,000 a month in 2025. A 787-9 ran from roughly $695,000 for an older airframe to about $1.075 million for a new one, reflecting both its size and its strong demand. The carriers signing these leases are the same ones filling out the fleets in our largest airlines in North America data.
Half a Trillion Dollars in Unbuilt Jets
The clearest signal of what airlines are willing to pay is what they have already committed to. Boeing reports its commercial backlog every quarter, valued at the prices in its signed contracts.
Source: Boeing quarterly results, 2025. Backlog value reflects contractual prices at period end and is stated as "over" the figures shown.
Boeing's commercial backlog value climbed from $460 billion at the start of 2025 to $567 billion by year-end, a rise of more than $100 billion. The total company backlog reached a record $682 billion. These are contractual values, already net of the discounts negotiated at order, which makes the backlog a better guide to real prices than any catalogue.
A Record Order Book, in Aircraft
Behind the dollar figure sits a count of actual airframes. That number tells you how many jets airlines are prepared to wait years to receive.
Source: Boeing quarterly results, 2025. Backlog counts unfilled commercial orders at period end and is stated as "over" each figure.
Boeing's backlog grew from over 5,600 aircraft to more than 6,100 across 2025, even as it delivered 160 jets in the third quarter alone, its best quarter since 2018. A backlog this deep measures demand and delivery constraints far more than it measures price.
What the Numbers Say About 2026
The direction for 2026 is a firmer market. Appraiser values are rising, lease rates are climbing off pandemic lows, and the 777X, listed at $442.2 million back in 2019, is finally nearing its first delivery in 2027 after about $15 billion in charges and a seven-year delay. Published list prices are not coming back. The reliable numbers now are appraiser values, lease rates and the backlog, and all three point up.
Disrupted by one of these expensive jets?Delays, cancellations and overbooking can be worth up to 600 euros per passenger under EU rules.Start your claim
References and Sources
- Boeing. Published aircraft list prices, 2019 (final catalogue before discontinuation), compiled by Simple Flying. simpleflying.com
- Airbus. Catalogue-price disclosure, 2019 (average discount about 50 percent), reported by Simple Flying. simpleflying.com
- AirInsight. Aircraft Pricing: List vs Market.airinsight.com
- IBA. Base Value Update for New Generation Narrowbody Aircraft, 2025.iba.aero
- IBA / AviTrader. Wide-body Aircraft Values Climb Amid Long-Haul Market Recovery, 5 August 2025.avitrader.com
- Cirium. Values Analyzer and Ascend fleet valuations, 2025.cirium.com
- Simple Flying. How Much Does a Boeing 737 MAX Cost in 2025.simpleflying.com
- Simple Flying. How Much Does a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner Cost in 2026.simpleflying.com
- Boeing. First-quarter, third-quarter and fourth-quarter 2025 results (backlog value and units). boeing.mediaroom.com
- Aerospace Global News. Boeing Boosts Deliveries and Backlog in Q4 as Recovery Gathers Pace, 2026.aerospaceglobalnews.com
- Simple Flying. Boeing 777X to Enter Service in 2027 After 7-Year and $15 Billion Delay.simpleflying.com
Methodology Note
This article combines Boeing's last published list prices from 2019 with current market values and lease rates from aircraft appraisers IBA, Cirium and Ascend, and with Boeing's own quarterly backlog disclosures for 2025. List prices are historical 2019 catalogue figures and are not adjusted for inflation. Market values and lease rates are indicative mid-2025 to 2025 estimates that vary by aircraft age, condition, lessor and deal terms. The 50 percent discount column is an illustrative estimate (E) derived by halving the 2019 list, consistent with the industry rule of thumb; actual discounts range from about 40 to 60 percent. The 787-9 depreciation curve uses appraised new and 20-year endpoints with interpolated intermediate points. Backlog values are contractual and stated by Boeing as "over" the figures shown. Percentages below list are computed against the 2019 catalogue price.
Author:
Joanna Teljeur
Job/Position: Senior Editor & Content Lead
Joanna Teljeur is a senior editor and writer with 15+ years of experience in editorial leadership, journalism, and content development, specialising in consumer rights, aviation law, and public-interest reporting. Her work focuses on transforming complex regulatory and legal topics into clear, accurate, and accessible content for international audiences.
Flight Compensation Calculator:
Check if you are entitled to flight delay compensation in just 3 minutes.
