Today marks a big day for Airbus as the European aircraft manufacturer can officially lay claim to producing the most popular commercial jet in the world. The Airbus A320 has officially surpassed the Boeing 737 in total deliveries since launch.
Airbus Dethrones Boeing for the Best Selling Airliner Ever
The Airbus A320 family of aircraft (which comprises the A318, A319, A320, and A321 variations) has been in continuous production since 1984. Since the first delivery to Air France in 1988, Airbus has officially delivered 12,260 of the popular narrowbody aircraft. Delivery 12,260 occurred overnight to Saudi Arabian carrier flyadeal.
The delivery to flyadeal pushed the A320 family past the current Boeing 737 delivery total of 12,259. While this is an impressive feat in its own right, it is even more impressive when you consider Boeing had a head start. The first Boeing 737-100 was delivered to Lufthansa in 1968 and deliveries continue to this day with the 737 MAX series.
It’s no secret that Boeing has had multiple delivery woes with its 737 MAX and 787 Dreamliner in recent years. All Boeing 737 MAX aircraft were grounded a few years ago after two fatal crashes and production of the variant has been limited in the years since.
The American planemaker is still working to get the smallest and largest MAX variants, the -7 and -10 respectively, certified in order to begin deliveries. Airbus on the other hand has ramped up production and is delivering roughly 2x the amount of aircraft as Boeing. I don’t see a scenario in which Boeing retakes the top spot anytime soon, if ever.
My Thoughts
Personally, as an American, it stings a bit to see Airbus surpass Boeing for the top spot in planes delivered, especially considering the head start that Boeing had. However, this mess is mostly on Boeing as the carrier has stretched and stretched a roughly 60 year old airframe instead of introducing a new narrowbody aircraft.
From a passenger perspective, I find the A320 family to be more comfortable than the Boeing 737 thanks to its slightly wider fuselage and its larger, and higher up windows. At 6′ 2″ I have to hunch over to see out of the windows on the 737 which isn’t the case on the A320.
Curious as to how my own flying breaks down across the two aircraft types, I looked back through 2020, the last complete year I have logged at this point, and I discovered an almost 50/50 split. I’ve flown 102 flights on Boeing 737s and 97 flights on an Airbus A320 variant during that time frame. As more carriers add new A320 family aircraft to their fleet, I expect that percentage to rise.
Do you have a favorite between the two?
Summary
With the delivery of the 12,260th aircraft, the Airbus A320 family has officially surpassed the Boeing 737 family as the best selling commercial airliner in history. Based on the current rates of production, I don’t see Boeing catching back up anytime soon.