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of Europe airbus made aviation history on Tuesday as its A320 family of planes overtook Boeing’s 737 to become the jetliner with the most deliveries in history.
boeingThe decades-old record fell with the delivery of an A320neo to Saudi carrier Flynn, bringing total A320 deliveries to 12,260 since the beginning of 1988, according to benchmark data from UK-based aviation analytics firm Cirium and tracked by principal aircraft supply analyst Rob Morris.
Neither Airbus nor Boeing responded to requests for comment on the data.
Demand for the industry’s workhorse A320 and 737 jets has surged in recent years, driven by economic growth that has brought millions of new middle-class travelers to the skies.
Together, Boeing and Airbus have delivered more than 25,000 of such jets, which were originally designed to serve major hubs but later widely adopted by low-cost carriers, which Airbus abandoned after Boeing cut production during the post-9/11 demand downturn.
Already the world’s largest aircraft maker in terms of annual deliveries, Airbus now claims the top spot for cumulative narrow-body deliveries, capping a 40-year transatlantic battle for market share after early disagreements over strategy and the sharing of jobs between partner countries, France, Germany, Spain and Britain.
Adam Pilarski, former chief economist at Douglas Aircraft, said, “In the beginning, no one thought it would work and now it’s winning, at least on the larger variants.”
Decades of transatlantic rivalry
Launched in 1984, the A320 emerged at a time when Airbus’s future was uncertain after the ups and downs of the two wide-body jets. The aircraft first flew in 1987 and entered service the following year.
Engineers in Toulouse, France took an ambitious step by introducing fly-by-wire computer controls into mainstream airliners – a pioneering move that faced resistance from unions and some carriers but eventually became an industry standard.
The brainchild of Airbus co-founder Roger Bataille, its development was shaped by arguments over whether to prioritize American airline demands for jets in the new 150-seat market, supported by the French, or continue to focus on wide bodies, supported by Lufthansa.
The project was saved from collapse when French President François Mitterrand and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, unaware that they had chosen the same mediator – the Bavarian politician Franz-Josef Strauss – asked him to mediate their dispute by drafting letters between them. The episode is described in Airbus: The First 50 Years, a history commissioned by Airbus but withdrawn, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.
It was also almost derailed due to doubts over investment by European governments. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said in Parliament in 1984: “I don’t want another Concorde in my hands”, referring to cost overruns on the Anglo-French supersonic jet. Boeing has long criticized such support.
Europe’s first commercial jet success
The high-tech but visually unremarkable A320 quickly overtook the assembly halls vacated by Concorde’s short-lived production and expanded into the space vacated by the recently discontinued A380. In the coming weeks, Airbus plans to increase production in the US and China.
“It was the first really successful non-US commercial jet,” said Cirium head of consultancy Max Kingsley-Jones. “It forced others to create competing alternatives.”
After Airbus received a surprise order from United Airlines in 1992, Boeing responded with a successful version called the 737NG. But despite strong sales, its third-generation 737 MAX plunged Boeing into turmoil after deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019. The renowned aircraft manufacturer has stabilized under new CEO Kelly Ortberg.
The A320 was forced to address its safety concerns after two early crashes, sparking debate over the balance between pilot control and cockpit automation.
Now, the Western monopoly faces threats from China and elsewhere as Brazil’s Embraer debates whether to move beyond regional jets and Californian startup JetZero proposes a radical shift from traditional fuselage design.
Industry sources say neither Airbus nor Boeing is in any rush to change their cash-generating models. Boeing is deep in debt, while Airbus is enjoying high valuations and rising sales.
Officials from both companies said at the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT) conference in Prague on Monday that new developments were unlikely unless further progress was made in areas including engine technology.
“Boeing may not reach parity with the existing A320 family based on their respective production plans, but it could strengthen Boeing’s resolve to think about the future beyond the 737 when the conditions are right,” Morris said.