Aircraft deliveries by manufacturer - global aircraft fleet 1999-2021

Since 2003, Airbus has consistently been the largest commercial aircraft manufacturer, delivering 611 jets in 2021. Their main competitor, Boeing, added 340 jets to the global aircraft fleet in that year.

Airbus and Boeing

The two dominant global aircraft manufactures are Boeing and Airbus. Aside from commercial aircraft, both companies also produce military aircraft, rockets, satellites, communications equipment and missiles. Boeing generates more than half its revenue in the United States, with roughly a third of revenue coming from its commercial airplanes segment. Airbus have a greater presence than Boeing in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, although their share of the North American market is much smaller.

Cost of aircraft

Airplanes are very expensive, with most of Airbus’s commercial aircraft ranging from 32 to 170 million U.S. dollars. This raises the question of how funds are sourced to purchase new aircraft. For new Boeing aircraft at least, funding is split reasonably equally between bank debt, capital markets, and cash – with cash being slightly more common.