Hello All,
After Airbus, Boeing, and Embraer announced their annual orders and deliveries, this blog undertakes its exercise of tracking yearly changes in the in-service single-aisle passenger fleet. It relies extensively on planespotters.net data.
The family view
The table below shows the evolution of the single-aisle passenger fleet by aircraft family:
| Family | 2025-12-31 Count | YoY Change | Deliveries | Net Retirements |
| A220 | 463 | 94 | 93 | (1) |
| A320ceo | 6,119 | (150) | 0 | 150 |
| A320neo | 4,191 | 514 | 607 | 93 |
| 757 | 166 | (38) | 0 | 38 |
| 737 Classic | 209 | 16 | 0 | (16) |
| 737 MAX | 2,098 | 431 | 440 | 9 |
| 737 NG | 5,590 | (112) | 0 | 112 |
| MD | 168 | 6 | 0 | (6) |
| C919 | 31 | 15 | 15 | 0 |
| E Jet | 555 | (42) | 0 | 42 |
| E Jet E2 | 192 | 45 | 44 | (1) |
| Total | 19,782 | 779 | 1,199 | 420 |
Net retirements were again minimal, representing around 2% of the in-service passenger fleet. The Boeing retirements were mainly in the 737 NG (64 737-700s and 41 737-800s) and 757 (30 757-200s) families, while concentrated at Airbus in the A319ceo (65), A320ceo (68), and A320neo (71). The net A320neo retirements are mainly due to airline restructurings. Many of those aircraft are expected to transition to new operators once more engines are available. There were no net 737 Classic and MD retirements.
Boeing’s missteps have helped grow Airbus’ share since 2020
At the end of 2020, Boeing’s share of the in-service fleet was 45%, compared with 52% for Airbus. At the end of 2025, the European OEM had 54%, compared with 42% for the American one. Over the period, Airbus has accounted for 62% of all single-aisle deliveries, compared with 34% for Boeing.
There have been marginally more Boeing net retirements than Airbus over the five years (668 vs. 626), mainly reflecting older aircraft. Both OEMs had around the same number of older-generation aircraft in service at year-end 2025 (6,133 for Boeing and 6,119 for Airbus). It is with the new generation that Airbus has a clear lead (4,654 vs. 2,098).
Shrinking small single-aisle passenger fleet share
The table below aggregates the in-service fleet by aircraft size (Small is anything below an A320ceo/neo/737-800/-8, large is 737-900/-9 or above, Medium is the rest):
| Category | Small | Medium | Large |
| 2025-12-31 Count | 3,057 | 12,239 | 4,486 |
| YoY Change | 2 | 417 | 360 |
| Deliveries | 152 | 606 | 441 |
| Net Retirements | 150 | 189 | 81 |
| 2020-2025 Chg | (323) | 2,408 | 1,586 |
The small single-aisle segment stopped shrinking as Airbus and Embraer are ramping up their A220 and E-Jet E2 deliveries. However, the segment’s share of the single-aisle fleet shrank from 21% to 15% since 2020 (and nominally shrank by 9.6%). Conversely, the large segment increased from 18% to 23% (and grew by 55%). It reflects airlines up-gauging their fleets. Once the 737-10 is certified and its production ramps up, expect large single-aisle deliveries to overtake the medium segment.
Looking ahead
In 2026, the E-Jet E2 in-service fleet (192) will almost certainly surpass the 737 Classic (209). The A220 (463) might overtake the E Jet (555) (we exclude the E170/E175 from the tally as they are regional jets).
New-generation aircraft (A220, A320neo, 737 MAX, C919, and E-Jet E2) now represent 33% of the in-service twin-aisle passenger fleet, compared with 12% in 2020.
Comac remains a small player for now, with only 15 deliveries in 2025. The OEM will become more relevant once yearly C919 deliveries consistently reach the 100-unit milestone.