Airbus nears record long held by Boeing

1981, the year Airbus SE announced it would build a single-aisle jetliner to take on Boeing, the 737 ruled the roost.

- BLOOMBERG

The US-made narrow-body, already in use for more than a decade, had reshaped the airline industry by making shorter routes cheaper and more profitable to operate. By 1988, when Airbus began producing its upstart A320, Boeing had built a formidable lead by delivering some 1,500 of its star-shaped bestseller.

It’s taken the better part of three decades, but Airbus has finally caught up: The A320 series is poised to overtake its competitor as the most-delivered commercial airliner in history, according to aviation consultancy Cirium. As of early August, Airbus had narrowed the gap to just 20 units, with 12,155 lifetime A320-family shipments, according to the data. That difference is likely to disappear as soon as next month.