The Airbus A320 family of aircraft, first introduced in 1988, has surpassed the Boeing 737, first delivered in 1967, as the most delivered jetliner in history. Airbus delivered its 12,260th A320 family aircraft to Saudi Arabia’s Flynas yesterday. Airbus achieved the record in 37 years, passing a program that has been in commercial operation for 58 years.
The Boeing 737 has been through four generations, the initial 737, the 737 Classic, the 737NG, and the current 737 MAX. The Airbus A320 family is in its second generation, which began with the A320ceo family and the current A320neo family.Â
The future continues to look strong for both aircraft families. At the end of August, Boeing had a firm backlog for 4,826 its 737 family and Airbus a backlog of 7,164 for A320neo family aircraft.Â
With a strong lead in both orders and production rates, it appears that Airbus will continue its market share lead in mainline narrow-body aircraft.
