The A320 jetliner entered finally reached five figures. Airbus‘ family of single-aisle commercial jets has passed the 10,000 aircraft delivered at the end of August. According to data from the manufacturer, until last month 10,004 aircraft had been shipped to customers, including all versions, from the A318 to the A321neo, the largest and most capable of them, in the account.
The milestone has yet to receive any Airbus citations so far, but it was noted by Flight Global on Tuesday. According to the outlet, the “10,000” aircraft could have been an A320neo delivered to China Eastern Airlines or IndiGo, or an A321neo from Gulf Air, all of which left the planemaker’s facilities between August 30 and 31.
| Model | Total |
| A318 | 80 |
| A319ceo | 1.484 |
| A319neo | 3 |
| A320ceo | 4.752 |
| A320neo | 1.310 |
| A321ceo | 1.779 |
| A321neo | 596 |
| Família A320 | 10.004 |
According to the monthly report of the European manufacturer, the following models of the family had been delivered until last month:
Faster than the Boeing 737
Airbus had shipped the “MSN 10,000” aircraft, an A321neo to MEA, last year, but with the problems caused by the pandemic, many units were left parked until the scenario improved.
The 10,000 deliveries mark is impressive because the A320 debuted just over 33 years ago – in April 1988 Air France put the first aircraft into service.
As a comparison, it took Boeing 50 years to reach the 10,000th 737, delivered to Southwest Airlines (largest customer of the model) in March 2018.
Since then, the world’s most popular commercial jet has been experiencing several problems that culminated in grounding for nearly two years. Although it still has a high order backlog and a few hundred aircraft produced and not delivered, the 737 has lost ground to its rival during this period.
Thanks to the perfect combination of technical improvements and new turbofan engines, the A320neo has taken the lead in terms of orders, especially on account of the A321XLR, the “widebodies exterminator”, due to its wide range and passenger capacity.
If there are no surprises, the A320 family is expected to surpass the quantity of 737 delivered within a short time, showing how a newer project can make a difference in the long term.
