Historic overtaking: Airbus A320 beats Boeing 737 to become the best-selling plane ever

It was a challenge more than half a century long, and finally the verdict came in: Airbus has surpassed Boeing. With 12,260 total deliveries, the family A320 is officially the best-selling commercial aircraft in history, ousting from the throne the Boeing 737, which has dominated the skies of the world for decades.

Who would have imagined that the heir to a project born two decades late would succeed in rewriting the history of civil aviation?

A symbolic but weighty milestone that takes a good picture of the moment in civil aviation: on the one hand Airbus in steady growth, on the other hand Boeing possibly coming out of years of turbulence.

An overtaking long overdue

The Boeing 737 entered service in the 1968, when Airbus did not yet exist as an airline manufacturer.
The first A320 would only take flight 20 years later, in the 1988: a huge delay, which at the time seemed destined the European manufacturer to chase forever.
Instead, in an almost unthinkable industrial parabola, today the roles have reversed.

The decisive delivery - the one that sealed the overtaking - took place a few days ago: a A320neo destined for Saudi airline flyadeal has taken Airbus to the 12,260 units delivered, one more than the American rival.

A small gap, certainly, but one of gigantic value: after more than half a century of Boeing dominance, the world's best-selling single-aisle aircraft speaks European.

The decline of the 737: crisis, accidents and delays

In recent years Boeing has gone through one of the most difficult phases in its history.
After the tragic incidents of the 737 MAX between 2018 and 2019, the U.S. manufacturer faced production limitations, certification delays, and severe reputational damage.
Even today, two basic variants - the MAX 7 and the MAX 10 - have not been certified, effectively blocking the full production capacity of the line.

Meanwhile, Airbus has been pushing on the accelerator: 766 aircraft delivered in 2024, versus the 348 of Boeing in the same period. An almost double pace, which well explains how overtaking was only a matter of time.

Why the A320 wins (and convinces)

The success of the family A320 is not accidental. It is a project that has evolved more than any other over the years:
from small A318, the shortest version of the A320 series, up to theA321XLR (Which has not yet shown a concrete impact on the market) capable of covering intercontinental routes, versatility has been the real winning weapon.

Even in terms of comfort, many passengers notice the difference: quieter cabins, more spacious interiors, and an overall feeling of greater modernity. The LEAP engine and fly-by-wire technology then consolidated the advantage in efficiency and reliability.

A change of era in the skies

For decades, the Boeing 737 has been the symbol of modern commercial aviation: compact, cheap, ubiquitous. But today the world has changed - and the balance as well.
Airbus has managed to build a stable industrial ecosystem, spread production over multiple countries, and ensure on-time deliveries, something that Boeing, amid scandals and quality problems, can no longer guarantee.

The overtaking, therefore, is not only numerical: it is the signal of a generational change Between two industrial philosophies.

The future: Boeing in hot pursuit

Boeing promises to catch up with increased MAX production, but the road is uphill.
In recent months, however, some signs of recovery have come: The company seems to have regained some stability, thanks in part to the support of the U.S. government and a more favorable political environment.
The confidence of regulators-particularly the FAA-is slowly returning, a sign that the Seattle-based giant has no intention of giving up the fight.

Also helping to encourage the recovery are new weight orders, coming exclusively by companies that have focused on wide-body models, as Qatar Airways, the IAG group and Etihad Airways, who chose the 787 Dreamliner and the future 777X.
Signs that, while not related to the 737 segment, show how confidence toward Boeing is slowly returning also among the world's leading companies.

Airbus, for its part, is already looking ahead: within a few years theA321XLR (which at the moment has not yet had a tangible impact on sales) will open new "mid-haul" routes.
And if market forecasts are confirmed, the A320 family could become the ultimate best seller For the next 20 years.

Conclusion

History will tell whether Boeing will really get back in the game, but for now the message is clear: 737 is no longer king of the skies.
In its place, leading the world market is theAirbus A320, a European project created to challenge American dominance-and which, after decades of chasing, has finally won its most important game.