Airbus and Boeing have been competing head-to-head for decades as the world’s largest commercial airplane makers. The European-based Airbus entered the market 56 years after its rival. And today, more than three-quarters of the world’s commercial aircraft are made up of Airbus and Boeing planes.
The Boeing 737 family and Airbus 320 family are the company's best-selling aircraft and have been a crucial segment of competition. Over the last few years, Airbus has pulled ahead of Boeing when it comes to net profits, orders, deliveries, and backlog. Experts say its A321neo narrow-body aircraft is propelling the company ahead of Boeing, which has been dealing with crisis after crisis the last several years. CNBC explores how Airbus came to be the biggest commercial plane manufacturer and whether it can stay on top.