Competition above the clouds
For years the aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing have been carrying on an exciting rivalry. Now the latest figures are available.
Who is ahead? For years Airbus and Boeing have been carrying on an exciting competition for orders and deliveries. In January 2016 the European and the American aircraft manufacturers released their latest figures.
In new orders, Airbus, with 1,036 machines, is well ahead of Boeing, with 768. But in 2015 Boeing delivered more planes: 762 against 635 by Boeing. In total orders backlog, Airbus again leads with 6,787 planes against Boeing’s 5,795. Both companies have in common that they can hardly keep up with demand.
The competition is still too close to call
Currently, about 10,000 Boeing and 8,600 Airbus airplanes are in service. The difference can be accounted for by the fact that the company Boeing is much older than Airbus. It was founded in 1916 by the son of a German immigrant; Airbus in 1970 as a Franco-German attempt to create a European alternative.
That the competition is still too close to call is shown by the fact that both companies are working intensively on innovations and are introducing more and more new models. Thus, in December 2015, the first Boeing 737 MAX left the assembly hangar. Also in 2015 Airbus presented the ultra-long-range version of its A350-900, for flights of up to 19 hours duration, and opened its first production facility in the United States.
