Airbus has become the world's largest planemaker for the first time since 2011 after delivering a forecast-beating 863 aircraft in 2019, seizing the crown from embattled U.S. rival Boeing, airport and tracking sources said Wednesday.
A reversal in the pecking order between the two giants had been expected as a crisis over Boeing's grounded 737 Max drags into 2020. But the record European data further underscores the distance Boeing must travel to recoup its market position.
Airbus, which had been forced by its own industrial problems to cut its 2019 delivery goal by 2-3 percent in October, deployed extra resources until hours before midnight Tuesday to reach 863 aircraft for the year, compared with its revised target of 860 jets.