Airbus overtakes Boeing in the skies: the A320 will be the best-selling aircraft ever, beating the 737

ROME – Forty years after its "birth," the A320 is on track to become the best-selling airliner series in history. For the first time, it has surpassed Boeing, which dominated the rankings for decades with the 737. When Airbus launched its narrow-body line for short- to medium-haul flights in 1981, intending to compete with Boeing's models, the 737 had already been on the market for more than a decade and had already sold over 1,500 aircraft.

Airbus ahead for the first time

Forty years later, Bloomberg reports using data from industry expert Cirium, Airbus has delivered 12,155 A320 family aircraft , 20 units shy of surpassing the historic milestone. Analysts expect this to happen by September. In July, Boeing announced it had delivered 48 aircraft, down from 60 in June but five more than it expected to in 2024. For the U.S. aircraft giant, this is the highest July deliveries since 2017, when it delivered 58.

But it's not enough to keep its main global rival at bay. European Airbus delivered 67 aircraft last month, albeit down from 77 in 2024. Since the beginning of the year, Boeing has delivered 328 aircraft compared to Airbus's 373. The Blagnac-based company expects this figure to increase to 820 jets by the end of the year (an expected 7% annual increase).

Airbus A320, the story of the overtaking

As Bloomberg reconstructs, Airbus began to gain ground on its rival in the first half of the 2000s , when annual deliveries of the A320 series surpassed those of the 737 family. In 2019, total orders eclipsed those of the Boeing jet but for 6 years it still remained the best-selling ever and will remain so at least until September 2025 .

Speaking at the Paris Air Show in June, Chief Executive Guillaume Faury called the A320 “a rather old platform” and confirmed plans to launch a new model by the end of this decade, with entry into service after 2035 .