Has fallen a record for decades: Boeing 737 is no longer the best -selling line aircraft in history
Boeing 737. Photo: Saimnadir | Dreamstime.com
The European company Airbus exceeded an important commercial barrier on Tuesday, the moment when its A320 aircraft range exceeded Boeing 737, becoming the most delivered line aircraft in history, reports Reuters.
The decades' record for Boeing fell with the delivery of a plane to Saudi Flynas, bringing the number of deliveries to 12,260 from the entry of the A320 in 1988, according to data provided by the British consulting firm, used throughout the industry.
Airbus did not respond immediately to the request for statements regarding these data, followed by the analyst in the field of supply with Rob Morris aircraft.
In 1981, the year in which Airbus announced that he would build a new line aircraft with a single aisle to compete with Boeing Co., the 737 model clearly dominated the market, notes Bloomberg.
The narrow fuselage plane made in the US, which was already used for more than a decade, had changed the face of the aeronautical industry, making the shorter and more profitable routes.
Until 1988, when Airbus began to produce his new A320 model, Boeing had built a formidable advantage, delivering about 1,500 copies of his cigar bestseller.
No one expected such great success of A320
It took almost four decades, but Airbus finally managed to recover the gap: the A320 series has surpassed its American competitor as the most delivered commercial plane.
At the beginning of August, Airbus had reduced the difference to only 20 units, with 12,155 A320 family deliveries.
“Has anyone expected in the old days that they could become number one – and with such a large volume of production?” He recently wrote about A320, on social networks, Max Kingsley-Jones, head of the consulting department of Cirium Ascend. “I certainly do not, and probably neither Airbus,” he added.
The success of the A320 model reflects the decrease of decades of the European aircraft builder, from a beginner aircraft builder to a serious competitor and, finally, to a better competitor. In the early 2000s, the annual deliveries of the A320 model and its derivatives exceeded the 737 family; Total commands eclipsed the Boeing plane in 2019. But the 737 model remained stubbornly the most delivered commercial aircraft.
Today, the A320 and 737 models represent almost half of the global fleet of passenger aircraft.
The success of the A320 model contrasts with strategic mistakes such as the gigantic A380, which has been shown to be short -lived, because the airlines could not profitably exploit this huge plane. Boeing claimed that smaller and more agile aircraft, such as 787 Dreamliner, will have an advantage – an forecast that has proved correct.
Photo: Saimnadir | Dreamstime.com
