How much does a Boeing cost?

Boeing published a catalog price list for decades and stopped doing so in 2021. Its last list put the 737 MAX 7 at 99.7 million dollars, the MAX 8 at 121.6, the MAX 10 at 134.9, the 787-9 at 292.5, the 777-300ER at 375.5, the 777-9 at 442.2 and the 747-8 at 418.4 million. Those figures were never what an airline actually pays. Large orders are negotiated with discounts that analysts and consultancies place between 40 and 60% off the list, bigger the larger the volume, the greater the loyalty to the manufacturer and the more Airbus competition there is in the campaign. A new 737 MAX 8, therefore, in practice sells for around half the catalog price (May 2026 figure).

The price refers to the aircraft as configured at the factory: airframe, engines (CFM LEAP-1B on the MAX, GEnx or Trent 1000 on the 787) and avionics. The airline then adds the cabin, seats, entertainment, connectivity and paint, which on a long-haul aircraft can add tens of millions, and separately contracts maintenance, training and spare parts. The engines, moreover, are usually negotiated directly with their manufacturer, with their own discounts and maintenance contracts billed per flight hour.

Many airlines don't buy: they lease. Leasing companies acquire aircraft in large batches and hand them over for monthly payments over eight to twelve years, which avoids tying up capital. Used aircraft are valued by age, cycles and engine condition: a fifteen-year-old 737-800 costs a fraction of a new one. And if the question refers to the company, Boeing trades on the New York Stock Exchange and is not for sale: it is one of the world's two major commercial aircraft manufacturers alongside Airbus.