TOULOUSE— Airbus A320 family is on the verge of surpassing Boeing 737 series as the world’s most-delivered commercial jet, according to Cirium data.
For decades, Boeing maintained its lead with the 737, first delivered to Lufthansa (LH) at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) in 1967. But Airbus, which handed its first A320 to Air France (AF) at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) in 1988, has now closed the gap to just a handful of deliveries.
Photo: BoeingAirbus A320 to Overtake Boeing 737
In 1981, Airbus announced its plans to build a new single-aisle aircraft that could take on Boeing’s best-seller. At the time, the 737 had already reshaped global aviation by making short- and medium-haul routes more efficient. By the time the first A320 entered service in 1988, Boeing had delivered around 1,500 units of the 737, Bloomberg flagged.
Fast forward nearly four decades, and Airbus has matched that dominance.
Cirium data shows that by early August 2025, Airbus had delivered 12,153 A320-family aircraft compared to Boeing’s 12,175 737s. With Airbus maintaining higher delivery rates, analysts expect the crossover point imminently.
Photo: AirbusLong Road to Market Leadership
Airbus was established in 1970 as a consortium of European aerospace firms backed by national governments. Initially plagued by political infighting and limited product offerings, the company knew it needed a competitive narrowbody to challenge Boeing.
The single-aisle market was, and still is, the most important category in commercial aviation, connecting key city pairs such as London Heathrow (LHR)–Paris (CDG) and New York (JFK)–Chicago (ORD).
Higher fuel costs and deregulation in the late 1970s created an opportunity. US airlines, including United Airlines (UA) and American Airlines (AA), were eager for a modern, more efficient jet.
Airbus seized the moment with the A320, introducing groundbreaking features such as digital fly-by-wire controls, a side-stick for pilots, and a higher stance that accommodated different engine options.
Photo: By Tomás Del Coro – https://www.flickr.com/photos/tomasdelcoro/49898991303/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=103538454Technological Leap and Airline Adoption
The A320’s innovations stood in contrast to the evolutionary upgrades of the 737. Boeing transitioned through the -200 series, powered by JT8D engines, to the CFM56-equipped Classic series in the 1980s.
Airbus, however, gambled on an “electric jet” concept, betting that fly-by-wire technology would give it an edge.
That gamble paid off. Major carriers, from Lufthansa (LH) in Europe to JetBlue Airways (B6) in the US, embraced the aircraft.
By the early 2000s, Airbus was not only matching Boeing in narrowbody deliveries but often surpassing it year by year. Total orders for the A320 family overtook those of the 737 in 2019, cementing Airbus as Boeing’s equal — if not its successor.
Photo: By Laurent ERRERA from L’Union, France – Airbus A320-200 JetBlue (JBU) F-WWBU – MSN 2447 – Will be N612JB – Named Blue Look Maahvelous, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29540574A Defining Moment in Aviation Rivalry
Max Kingsley-Jones, head of advisory at Cirium Ascend, described the shift as historic.
He noted that when Airbus first flew the A320 prototype in 1987, Boeing had already sold over 1,300 737s. Few believed the European newcomer could challenge, let alone surpass, the US-built jet.
Now, as Airbus prepares to take the crown for cumulative deliveries, the moment represents more than just a statistical milestone. It underscores a broader story: Airbus’s rise from a politically complex consortium into one of the two dominant forces in global aviation.
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