In a milestone for commercial aviation, Airbus’ A320 family has now surpassed Boeing’s 737 to become the most-delivered jetliner in history.
When the tires of Saudi low cost airline Flynas (XY/KNE) latest A320neo came to a screeching halt in Riyadh just minutes past midnight on October 7th, aviation history was made. Perhaps not so much because of the handover of the aircraft itself. Nothing suggests that the roughly 6.5 hour long delivery flight out of Airbus delivery center in Toulouse had been anything but uneventful for the aircraft registered as HZ-NS95. But, as the all-Airbus fleet of the Riyadh based carrier grew by one, Airbus had an even bigger reason to celebrate. With it, the European aerospace giant had reached 12,260 cumulative deliveries of its A320 family of aircraft, effectively overtaking Boeing’s long-standing record for the 737 series. This according to the aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Airbus bigger than Boeing?
However, as data from Flightradar24 shows, the scale started to tip in Airbus’s favor earlier than that if you consider other data points. Aircraft deliveries aside, if we instead compare actual aircraft movements, the European workhorse overtook its American equivalent as early as during the early 2010s. Crunching numbers covering the month of September this year unveils a substantial lead for the A320 family in terms of performed flights. The Airbus A320 family completed 1,414,516 flights, while Boeing 737s racked up 1,102,536 flights.
Statistics be damned, but surely therein lies something to be considered.
A rivalry for the ages
Airborne for the first time in 1967, the Boeing 737 was developed as a supplement to the 727, with shorter and thinner routes in mind. Multiple iterations followed, eventually leading European rival Airbus to launch the A320 in 1984 to combat its prevalence and success. Given its roughly 20 year long headstart, Boeing has remained steadfast in pole position in the highly competitive narrowbody market. It’s been quite the dance, seeing both aircraft families jockey for dominance across global airspace, the gap closing slowly but steadily.
The latest round of this decades-long push-pull rivalry saw Airbus leaping into action as the year 2010 came to an end, airing plans for a modernized version dubbed the A320neo (New engine option). Boeing responded just months later, announcing refinements to an airframe design that by then had been roaming the skies for close to half a century. The 737 MAX too promised vastly improved economics due engineering wizardry in the dark art of engine design. Again, aircraft lessors and airlines looking to expand or upgrade their fleets, found themselves with two primary alternatives when it came to 150+ seat capacity, single aisle aircraft. Headscratching among decision makers ensued, orders were eventually placed, the dance continued. Then disaster struck.
Grounding of the Max
Two horrific crashes involving 737 MAX aircraft within a narrow timespan just shy of six months spurred authorities worldwide to ground the entire fleet. Confidence with the manufacturer swayed, to say the least. The Renton production line came to a halt, deliveries were paused, lawsuits commenced. Set against a backdrop of a global pandemic that in itself put the entire industry in financial malaise, recertification eventually came to happen and with green lights being given from civil aviation authorities across the globe, Boeing again started to fulfill orders. The damage, both from a human standpoint as well as purely reputational, however will take time and serious effort on Boeing’s behalf to alleviate.
What the future holds
Airbus now having passed Boeing when it comes to delivered aircraft of course in no way marks the end of this decades old rivalry. Far from it. Rather, it signals changing tides in the aerospace duopoly and sets the stage for interesting developments ahead. One thing is certain, the pressure now is on Boeing to respond. That may be through a shift in strategy or even by accelerating plans for the next generation of mid-size aircraft. The latter however may be further ahead than one would spontaneously assume—development of new aircraft after all is a costly venture and both Boeing and Airbus are likely keen on emphasizing refinements in engines, materials, and systems rather than rushing headfirst into creating brand new jetliners.
Then there’s the competition making their presence known. Brazil’s Embraer, who in the past couple of years have been inching their way into the mid-size market with stretched versions of the E-jet family of aircraft, are rumored to consider an outright competitor to the A320 and 737.
Meanwhile in China, an important market for both Boeing and Airbus, domestic manufacturer COMAC (Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China) is vying for influence with their partly (foreign parts after all make up a significant portion of the end product) homegrown C919 model that entered into commercial service in 2022.
For now, the A320 may have surpassed the B737 as the most sold aircraft in its category (and performed flights). One thing however is certain—the last word on the subject is far from having been uttered.
One Response
Due to the political situation between China and the USA, I’m wondering if the Boeing slide may accelerate. An article on the C919 component suppliers would be an interesting read (hint hint).