Summary
- Airbus and Boeing aircraft operate 78% of the world’s passenger flights in July.
- Each manufacturer’s equipment is used at 1,700+ airports.
- Shanghai Pudong ranks first for Airbus-operated services, while Atlanta tops the table for Boeing.
Even people with little aviation interest know that Airbus and Boeing aircraft dominate the sky. Examining all July services using Cirium data shows that their equipment operates 78% of all passenger flights. As you’d expect, the pair’s supremacy has risen considerably in the past two decades, both from their own growth, in response to the massive increase in demand, and the decline or extinction of other manufacturers. In 2004, they operated half of all flights, which grew to 65% in 2014.
A summary of use
Before delving into the busiest airports for Airbus and Boeing aircraft, it is worth quickly considering how each manufacturer’s statistics stack up in a service and network sense, as summarized below.
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Airbus equipment has approximately 46,000 daily flights, compared to 38,000 for Boeing. Notably, the leading continent for Airbus has far more services than the leading continent for its counterpart. While unsurprising, the reverse is true at the country level.
Unless stated, the figures are take-offs and landings combined and rounded for readability. Where necessary, they are averaged across the whole month (numbers/31 days). Data is based on July only; it may differ at other times.
|
Airbus aircraft |
Boeing aircraft |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Average daily flights in July |
46,400 |
38,000 |
|
% of the world’s total |
43% |
35% |
|
Airports served (at least once) |
1,730+ |
1,700+ |
|
Top five countries (avg. daily flights) |
China (9,200), the US (7,900), India (2,900), the UK (2,600), Spain (2,500) |
The US (12,000), China (7,000), the UK (2,300), Spain (2,000), Japan (1,900) |
|
Top three continents (avg. daily flights)* |
Asia (18,200), Europe (13,000), North America (8,500) |
North America (12,200), Asia (12,000), Europe (8,800) |
|
Top airline (avg. daily flights) |
American (1,900) |
Southwest (4,200) |
|
* The Middle East is counted separately to Asia here |
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Top five airports for Airbus aircraft
Of the 1,730+ airports globally to see the manufacturer’s equipment in July, the five with the most departures are shown below. Turkish Airlines in Istanbul is notable. Of the airport’s average 444 daily Airbus services (each way), Turkish Airlines operates approximately 351. This is hardly surprising given how massively dominant it is at its fast-growing hub.
Photo: Turkish Airlines
The Star Alliance member’s passenger Airbus aircraft comprise the A319, A320ceo, A321ceo/neo, A330-200, A330-300, and A350-900. When combined, they’ll be flown to 232 airports globally this month.
|
Airport |
Avg. daily Airbus departures in July* |
Number one airline (share**) |
Number one destination*** |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Shanghai Pudong |
482 |
China Eastern (35%) |
Dalian |
|
London Heathrow |
477 |
British Airways (59%) |
Dublin |
|
Delhi |
469 |
IndiGo (51%) |
Mumbai |
|
Istanbul Airport |
444 |
Turkish Airlines (79%) |
Tehran Imam Khomeini |
|
Dallas Fort Worth |
429 |
American (70%) |
Los Angeles |
|
* Double for both ways |
** Of Airbus equipment |
*** Of Airbus equipment, regardless of airline |
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Top five airports for Boeing aircraft
Things are much different for Boeing, with three of its top aircraft airports necessarily being in the US. Atlanta has an average of 655 daily Boeing departures (each way). Given that Atlanta is the world’s busiest airport, Delta’s largest hub, and the US is number one for Boeing equipment, it shouldn’t be surprising that it has far more flights than the leading airport for Airbus equipment.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
Tokyo Haneda stands out, not just because it is the only Asian airport to feature (the Middle East counts as a separate region here). More than one in two of its Boeing flights are on a widebody, which is heavily influenced by the number of twin-aisle domestic services. Indeed, Haneda, closer to Tokyo’s downtown than Narita, remains the world’s number one widebody airport for this reason.
|
Airport |
Avg. daily Boeing departures in July* |
Number one airline (share**) |
Number one destination*** |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Atlanta |
655 |
Delta (82%) |
Orlando |
|
Denver |
534 |
Southwest (55%) |
Chicago O’Hare |
|
Tokyo Haneda |
499 |
All Nippon (49%) |
Sapporo |
|
Chicago O’Hare |
420 |
United (47%) |
Denver |
|
Dubai |
388 |
flydubai (44%) |
Muscat |
|
* Double for both ways |
** Of Boeing equipment |
*** Of Boeing equipment, regardless of airline |