RENTON – Airlines can’t seem to get enough single-aisle commercial jets.
In the past two years, both the Boeing Co. and competitor Airbus have posted personal bests for their 737 and A320 single-aisle program orders, with Airbus setting an industry record in 2005. Airbus recently topped the 5,000-order mark for its single-aisle program – a milestone Boeing reached in 2002.
“The A320 is without a doubt the world’s most popular passenger aircraft, having outsold any other single-generation aircraft program,” said Louis Gallois, Airbus’ chief executive officer, in a prepared statement.
Although Boeing sold 5,000 of its single-aisle jets first, Airbus sold its first 5,000 in a shorter amount of time, giving each plane maker a different set of bragging rights.
A 30-jet order from U.S.-based Spirit Airlines pushed Airbus’ program over the 5,000-request mark.
Boeing’s first 737, the Renton-built 737-100, entered service almost four decades ago. The Chicago-based company launched its “Next Generation” series of 737s in the 1990s with the first 737-700 jet entering service in 1998. Boeing’s single-aisle jets can seat between 110 and 215 passengers.
As of the end of last year, Boeing had taken 6,828 orders for its 737 family of jets and delivered 5,268 planes.
Airbus’ first single-aisle plane, the A320, entered service in 1988, two decades after the first 737 took flight. Since then, the Toulouse, France-based company has added the A321, A319 and A318 into its single-aisle arsenal. The planes offer seating capacity from 107 to 221 passengers.
Despite each company’s claims to the single-aisle throne, both Airbus and Boeing agree the market segment will skyrocket in the next 20 years. Over the past four decades, the two plane makers have logged more than 11,000 orders and 8,000 deliveries of single-aisle jets.
The popularity of the 737 and A320 planes has led analysts to ask: Which company will come up with an updated plane next?
Last fall, some analysts speculated that Boeing would try to time its launch of a new single-aisle aircraft until Airbus is tied up with development of its A350 Extra Wide Body plane. The combination of A380 and A350 costs could prove too steep for Airbus to take on a third program.
In November, James Bell, Boeing’s chief financial officer, downplayed similar talk. The company would need a good understanding of what improvements its customers want from a new single-aisle jet before moving forward, Bell said.
“I am more concerned with having the right product than having the product come out first,” he said.
In December, Airbus received approval from its parent company to proceed with the A350 line.
With a backlog of more than 2,000 A320 family jets, Airbus seems focused on ramping up A320 production in order to meet demand. In 2006, Airbus upped its production rate on the A320 line from 30 jets to 32 aircraft a month. By the end of next year, the single-aisle program is scheduled to churn out 36 planes monthly.
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