How Airbus & Boeing Aircraft Production Has Changed Over The Past Decade

Airbus and Boeing remain the world's two primary passenger jet airplane makers. The last decade has seen Canada's Bombardier exit the commercial passenger jet maker and China's COMAC enter it. Meanwhile, Brazil's Embraer continues to be the world's third commercial airplane maker.

A decade ago, in 2015, Boeing was doing well. However, since 2018, Boeing has not had a "normal" year and Airbus has consistently outdelivered it every year since. Over the last decade, Boeing's aircraft deliveries have declined or have been otherwise rocky.



Meanwhile, Airbus is recovering from its dip during the pandemic and is ironing out supply chain issues. Airbus has emerged as the world's largest airplane maker. Here is what to know about how Boeing and Airbus production has changed over the last decade.

End Of The Double-Decker Giants In 2015, two double-decker aircraft were in production, the Boeing 747-8 Jumbo and the Airbus A380 Superjumbo. By 2015, orders for the passenger variant of the Boeing had dried up with the last passenger Boeing 747-8 (HL7644) being delivered to Korean Air two years later in 2017. By 2015, the Airbus A380 had flown for ten years and had been in service since 2007.

In 2015, both Boeing and Airbus were building these giants, but doubts about their future were gathering. In 2023, the final Boeing 747 (a freighter variant) was delivered and Boeing's 747 Jumbo production line shut down. Things were also looking bad for the A380.

The much more efficient Boeing 787 Dreamliner entered service in 2011 and the new Airbus A350 joined it in 2015. In 2019, Airbus announced the end of the A380 program after it failed to attract new orders and Emirates canceled a large part of its existing orders. The final Airbus A380 was delivered to Emirates in 2021 and with it, the era of Boeing and Airbus producing double-deck passenger aircraft came to an end.

Additionally, the era of quad-engined commercial jets came to an end (production of the A340 ended in 2012). Now, all commercial passenger jets are twin-engined. Airbus' Growing Lead 2018 was the final 'normal' year for Boeing and in that year it delivered a total of 806 commercial aircraft.

After that, Boeing was hit by the MAX crisis (which continues today) and the pandemic along with its lingering supply chain disruptions. Meanwhile, in 2018 Airbus came a close second, delivering a total of 800 commercial aircraft in 2018. However, Boeing has not been able to return to pre-crisis delivery levels.

In 2024, Boeing delivered just 348 aircraft, while Airbus delivered 766 commercial aircraft. 2024 was a return to particularly bad years for Boeing after its deliveries had recovered to 528 commercial aircraft. Airbus has solidified itself as the largest airplane maker.

Airplane maker market share: Airbus: 56% Boeing: 40% Embraer: 3.6% COMAC: 0.4% Time will tell whether Airbus is able to maintain or grow its lead over Boeing.

Currently, Boeing has a 40% market share, while Airbus has a 56% share. The remaining 4% is split between Embraer (at 3.6%) and China's COMAC (at 0.

4%). In the first three months of 2025, Airbus produced 110 aircraft and Boeing produced 63 aircraft. There are many factors that could influence COMAC's ability to challenge Airbus and Boeing's duopoly in Asia.

New Aircraft In Production Since 2015, Boeing has not introduced any new clean-sheet aircraft. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner entered service in 2011 and was followed by the 787-9 in 2014. The Boeing 787-10 did enter service after 2015, in 2018.

Meanwhile, the current generation 737 MAX 8 entered service in 2017 and was followed by the MAX 9 in 2018. Boeing's MAX 7, MAX 10, and the modernized Boeing 777X were previously intended to be in production, but their FAA-type certificates have been delayed and are still pending. This is one of the biggest issues for Boeing, and it has led to a major cash problem.

New Boeing variants since 2015: Boeing 787-10, 737 MAX 8, 737 MAX 9 New Airbus variants since 2015: Airbus A330neo, A320neo, A321neo (inc. LR & XLR) New clean-sheet aircraft: Airbus A350 (in service early 2015) Airbus, on the other hand, first introduced the Airbus A350-900 in January 2015, which was followed by the A350-1000 in 2018. The modernized A330neo entered service in 2018 and the A320neo in 2016.

The A320neo's larger cousin, the A321neo, entered service in 2017. The latest variant of the A321neo to enter service was the A321XLR, which first flew revenue-generating flights in November 2024. Widebody Duopoly Over the last decade, Boeing and Airbus have remained the world's only two manufacturers of widebody aircraft.

Boeing's passenger variant of the 767 has been replaced by the 787. This means that Boeing's two widebody options are the Boeing 787 and the 777 (including the upcoming 777X, which will come in two passenger variants). Airbus discontinued the A340 in 2012 and the A380 in 2021, while it introduced the Airbus A350 in 2015.

Airbus' two widebody aircraft in production are the updated A330neo and the A350. The A350 comes in two variants and will compete with the Boeing 777X. There are no rival companies ready to challenge Airbus and Boeing with their ownership of the widebody market in the near future.

JetZero is working on developing the medium-sized Z4 blended wing body, while Russia is working to restart production of its obsolete Ilyushin Il-96 amid sanctions. China's COMAC has the long-term goal of developing the C929 and C939 widebody aircraft. Obsolete quadjets may become a thing again as Russia gears up to place the old Il-96-300 back into production.

Growth Of The A320 Boeing launched its Boeing 737 family of aircraft in 1967. It proved to be the most popular narrowbody commercial jet in the world. Currently, it claims the world record for around 12,000 delivered.

However, it has been outsold and out-delivered by the rival Airbus A320 family for decades. The A320 family is set to overtake the Boeing 737 in cumulative sales in 2025. Over the last ten years, the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 have been the backbone of commercial aircraft deliveries.

The Boeing 737 is Boeing's only narrowbody aircraft and is meant to come in four variants, although only the MAX 8 and MAX 9 have FAA certification. With the introduction of the Airbus A321XLR and with Boeing's 757 out of production, Airbus is now filling the midsize airplane market. Boeing is reported to be developing a cleansheet midsize airplane commonly called the Boeing 797, but it is unclear if this will ever be produced.

2024 narrowbody deliveries Boeing 737 narrowbody deliveries: 265 (MAX 8 and MAX 9) Airbus A320 deliveries: 605 Airbus A220 deliveries: 75 (formerly Bombardier CSeries) Even with the MAX crisis, the 737 has been the most delivered Boeing aircraft. In 2018, Boeing delivered 580 examples, and in 2019 that fell to 127 and in 2020 it cratered to 43. In 2023, it had recovered to 396 but fell again to 265 in 2024.

Airbus delivered 626 A320s in 2018 and in 2024 it shipped 602 examples. With the acquisition of the Bombardier CSeries as the A220, Airbus now has two narrowbody families. In addition to its A320s, it also delivered 75 A220s.

Airbus & Boeing's Threats Looking forward, the world has many opportunities and challenges for Boeing and Airbus. In 2025, AirInsight reported that Boeing had secured its supply chain. Also, in early 2025, the CEO of AerCap (the world's largest aircraft leasing company), stated that Boeing has made great strides in increasing the quality of its products.

It is unclear if Boeing can reclaim its lost market share. Looking towards the rest of the decade, AirInsight says it is unlikely that the Chinese aircraft maker, COMAC, will be able to challenge Airbus and Boeing. The aircraft maker remains dependent on Western components.

According to AirInsight, COMAC will struggle to ramp up production as it can't receive the Western engines faster than it is now. One potential rival is JetZero, which is developing a medium-sized blended wing body aircraft in partnership with Northrop Grumman. JetZero aims for it to come into service in 2030.

Perhaps the biggest uncertainty in Airbus and Boeing aircraft manufacturing going forward is the ongoing trade war. AerCap has warned that in an "absolute worst case scenario," Boeing will be left with just the US market or 25-30% of the world's commercial aviation market, while Airbus takes over the rest. Tariffs have the potential to be a major disrupter in the aviation sector.

However, for now, it is unclear where the dust will settle. One manufacturer could be in a better position than the other..