Airbus A320 overtakes Boeing 737 as the best-selling aircraft in history
Airbus has delivered 12,257 units since 1988, while Boeing has sold 12,254 units of its model since 1968.
Two Airbus A320s belonging to German airline Lufthansa. File image.
(AFP) The Airbus A320 has for the first time become the best-selling aircraft model in history after surpassing the Boeing 737, according to figures released by both companies.
According to data offered by Boeing on Tuesday, the company delivered 40 737 MAX aircraft in September, for a total of 12,254 aircraft sold since the single-aisle model began being marketed in 1968.
Through the end of September, Airbus had delivered 12,257 units of the A320, also a single-aisle, which began sales in 1988, the European carrier reported last week.
The fact that Airbus has surpassed Boeing in terms of commercial deliveries reflects the U.S. company's crisis over safety and quality control problems in recent years.
Boeing's 737 MAXs were grounded for 20 months after two accidents involving this model in 2018 and 2019, in which 346 people died.
The U.S. aviation authority limited production of Boeing's flagship model to 38 units per month beginning in March 2024 after another in-flight incident involving minor injuries to a 737 MAX 9 aircraft.
Boeing management plans to seek permission to increase monthly production to 42 aircraft by the end of the year.
Airbus has suffered engine problems in recent years and, in late July, reported "persistent supply problems" with this component for A320 models.
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