US aircraft maker Boeing booked a record 1,203 net commercial airplane orders in 2012, the second-largest number in the company's history, besides delivering 601 new airplanes, its highest since 1999, said a senior official.

Announcing the feat, Ray Conner, the president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes said, "Our employees rose to the challenge of executing several production rate increases in 2012 - a truly remarkable performance."

"Increasing our deliveries by 25 per cent allowed us to put more airplanes into the hands of our customers and grow our customer base by offering the best products and services," he added.

The 737 program broke the record for orders for any Boeing model in a single year, accumulating 1,124 net orders. The 737 Max – the new engine variant of the best-selling 737 – netted 914 of those orders, bringing the total number till date to 1,064, said Conner.

In addition, the Next-Generation 737 set a new single-year record with 415 deliveries to customers worldwide. The 737 program also celebrated its 10,000th order in 2012, he stated.

According to Conner, Boeing’s leadership in the widebody market continued in 2012. "The year began with the five-continent 787 Dream Tour and ended with 11 787 deliveries in December to seven customers. To date, 49 787s have been delivered to eight customers," he observed.

The 777, which totaled 83 deliveries in 2012 and surpassed 1,000 since launch, won 68 net orders, said the top official.

"The airplane continues to win accolades from passengers, earning three prestigious awards voted on by business travelers. With 31 deliveries in 2012, the 747-8 Intercontinental and Freighter have received positive reviews from customers and are performing as expected in service."

Boeing said its unfilled commercial airplane orders at the end of the year stood at 4,373, the most in company history.

“As we look ahead to 2013, we’re focused on meeting our customer commitments by increasing production rates and delivering high-quality, reliable products and services,” remarked Conner.

“We will also transition the 787-9 into production and flight test and work closely with customers, who contribute so much to our success, to continue defining the 787-10X and 777X,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service