Airbus achieved a major milestone on Tuesday as its A320 family of aircraft overtook Boeing’s 737 to become the most-delivered jetliner in history, Reuters reports.
According to UK-based aviation consultancy Cirium, which tracks global aircraft deliveries, the record was broken when a new A320 was handed over overnight to Saudi carrier Flynas, bringing total deliveries since the model’s 1988 debut to 12,260. Airbus declined to comment on the data, compiled by analyst Rob Morris.
Together, Boeing and Airbus have produced more than 25,000 single-aisle jets — aircraft originally designed to connect major hubs but later embraced by low-cost airlines. Airbus capitalised on this shift, ramping up production while Boeing reduced output after the post-9/11 downturn in travel demand.
A Four-Decade Rivalry Reaches a Turning Point
Airbus has long been the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer by annual deliveries, but surpassing the 737 represents a symbolic victory in a 40-year transatlantic battle for dominance in the narrow-body market. The milestone crowns decades of industrial competition marked by disputes over design, production strategy and job distribution among Airbus’s founding partners — France, Germany, Spain and Britain.
Launched in 1984, the A320 was initially met with scepticism about Airbus’s future after its difficult entry into the wide-body market. The jet first flew in 1987, introducing digital fly-by-wire controls — a then-radical innovation that drew resistance from unions and airlines but has since become standard across the industry.
Boeing Faces Challenges as Airbus Expands
Airbus continues to expand its production network in the United States and China. Boeing, meanwhile, remains under pressure following the twin disasters involving its 737 MAX aircraft in 2018 and 2019. The American planemaker has been gradually restoring production while facing tighter regulatory scrutiny.
Both companies are expected to unveil new-generation models in the next decade but have signalled they will not begin development until engine technology makes a meaningful leap forward, according to remarks at the ISTAT conference in Prague this week.
Kursiv reported on August 17 that Airbus’s A320 family was on track to surpass Boeing’s 737 as the world’s most delivered airliner trailing the 737 by only 20 aircraft.
