Airbus said Friday it had delivered 863 planes in 2019, moving ahead of troubled Boeing for its best-ever return, despite battling production problems which forced a mid-year downward revision of forecasts. As Boeing, which had out-produced its European rivals since 2012, labours under the problems afflicting its 737 MAX model, Airbus raced ahead, revealing in a statement it had seen deliveries rise eight percent on 2018. The US behemoth has yet to publish its own 2019 statement but had by November only made 345 deliveries to airlines – half its showing for the first 11 months of 2018. A320 series, launched in 1987, has become the most-ordered series in commercial aviation history ahead of the Boeing 737, which appeared in 1967, industry experts say. With its 2019 showing Airbus has now made more than 20,000 net deliveries in its 50-year history.

Source: Punch January 10, 2020 21:00 UTC