Description of Business Segments and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Additional Information (Details) $ / shares in Units, € in Millions, $ in Millions		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			29 Months Ended
	Apr. 05, 2023 $ / shares	Jan. 31, 2021 Employee	May 31, 2023 USD ($) AirCraft $ / shares	May 31, 2023 USD ($) AirCraft $ / shares shares	May 31, 2022 USD ($) $ / shares shares	May 31, 2021 USD ($)	May 31, 2023 USD ($) AirCraft	May 31, 2023 EUR (€) AirCraft	Oct. 16, 2022 USD ($)	Dec. 16, 2021 USD ($)
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Gross contract assets related to in-transit shipments			$ 686	$ 686	$ 861		$ 686
Contract assets net of deferred unearned revenue			484	484	623		484
Contract liabilities related to advance payments from customers			19	$ 19	8		$ 19
Payment terms of customer contracts				Under the typical payment terms of our customer contracts, the customer pays at periodic intervals (e.g., every 15 days, 30 days, 45 days, etc.) for shipments included on invoices received. It is not customary business practice to extend payment terms past 90 days, and as such, we do not have a practice of including a significant financing component within our revenue contracts with customers.
Advertising and promotion expenses				$ 435	470	$ 428
Depreciable life range for majority of aircraft costs				15 to 30 years
Depreciation expense, excluding gains and losses on sales of property and equipment				$ 4,176	3,970	3,793
Interest costs capitalized				$ 77	$ 62	$ 68
Noncash impairment charges			70
Noncash impairment charges net of tax			$ 54
Noncash impairment charges net of tax per diluted share | $ / shares			$ 0.21
Number of Idle Aircraft | AirCraft			11	11			11	11
Number of months aircraft remained idle				an average of five months
Denominated debt as a net investment hedge | €								€ 151
Business optimization costs, net of tax				$ 209
Business optimization costs per diluted share | $ / shares				$ 0.81
Business optimization costs				$ 273
Number of shares repurchased | shares				9,200,000	8,900,000
Treasury stock acquired, average cost per share | $ / shares				$ 163.39	$ 253.85
Payments for repurchase of common stock				$ 1,500	$ 2,248
Cash dividend payable amount per share | $ / shares	$ 1.26
Cash dividend payable, date declared	Apr. 05, 2023
Cash dividend payable, date of record	Jun. 12, 2023
Cash dividend payable, date to be paid	Jul. 03, 2023
Business realignment costs				36	278		$ 430
Number of employees left or voluntarily leaving | Employee		5,000
Business realignment costs, net of tax				$ 27	$ 214
Business realignment costs per diluted share | $ / shares				$ 0.11	$ 0.80
Business employee severance costs paid				$ 118	$ 225
2022 Repurchase Program
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Stock repurchase program amount authorized to be repurchased, remaining available amount			$ 2,600	$ 2,600			$ 2,600
Stock repurchase program amount authorized to be repurchased										$ 5,000
Accelerated Share Repurchase Agreement
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Repurchase on aggregate common stock									$ 1,500
Number of shares repurchased | shares				9,200,000
Boeing MD-11F aircraft [Member]
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Number of aircraft to be permanently retired from service | AirCraft				12
Number of aircraft engines to be permanently retired from service | AirCraft				25
Boeing 757-200 aircraft [Member]
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Number of aircraft to be permanently retired from service | AirCraft				4
Number of aircraft engines to be permanently retired from service | AirCraft				1
Airbus A300-600 aircraft [Member]
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Number of aircraft to be permanently retired from service | AirCraft				2
Number of aircraft engines to be permanently retired from service | AirCraft				8
Minimum [Member]
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Intangible assets amortization periods				1 year
Maximum [Member]
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Intangible assets amortization periods				15 years