Move over, Boeing 737: there’s a new most popular plane in town.
Airbus has broken the Boeing 737’s long-held record for the most-delivered jet in history.
That illustrious title now belongs to the Airbus A320 aircraft, following a delivery of an A320neo jet to Saudi carrier Flynas on October 7, Reuters reports. That delivery brought the total number of A320s handed off the airlines to 12,268 over the course of 37 years, according to data from Cirium.
Airbus, which is based in Toulouse, France, first flew its A320 in 1987, and the aircraft then entered into passenger service in 1988 with its launch airline Air France. Today, hundreds of airlines have A320s in their fleets, including major U.S. carriers like Delta, United, JetBlue, and Spirit. American Airlines operates notably one of the largest collections of A320s in the world.
"It was the first truly successful non-U.S. commercial jet," said Cirium head of advisory Max Kingsley-Jones, according to Reuters. "It forced others to create competitive alternatives."
Both the A320 and the Boeing 737 are seen in the industry as workhorse jets, thanks to their ability to efficiently cover popular mid-range routes with cabins mostly full of economy-style seats with six passengers per row.
Over the decades, both Boeing and Airbus have refreshed the design of the popular single-aisle aircraft with new variants that have additional features and differing sizes. One of Boeing’s newer 737 variants, the 737 Max, has faced certificating and manufacturing delays following several fatal crashes in 2019 and 2020. However, Boeing has said it’s ready to ramp up the production of the 737 Max again after regaining partial authority to certify the planes alongside the FAA.
Both plane manufacturers have seen a surge of demand for their narrowbody jets in the past couple of decades, as new and low-cost airlines have proliferated around the globe. In addition to its new milestone with the A320, Airbus also holds the title of largest planemaker in the world by total annual deliveries.
However, Airbus can’t rest on its laurels if it wants to maintain its record. Right now, the manufacturer only leads Boeing 737s by six aircraft deliveries. Boeing is still right on its heels, with a total of 12,262 deliveries of its 737 planes.
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