Europe’s Airbus broke a major commercial barrier on Tuesday when its A320 family of planes overtook the Boeing 737 to become the most-delivered jetliner in history.
Boeing's decades-old record fell with the handover of an A320neo to Saudi carrier Flynas, bringing the total deliveries of the A320 series to 12,260 since it entered service in 1988, according to benchmark data from UK-based aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Demand for the industry workhorses, the A320 and 737 jets, has surged in recent years, as economic growth led by Asia has brought tens of millions of new middle-class travelers into the skies.
Together, Boeing and Airbus have delivered more than 25,000 of these jets, originally designed to serve major hubs but later widely adopted by low-cost carriers, which Airbus courted after Boeing reduced output during a downturn in demand following the 9/11 attacks, Reuters reported.
