Five aircraft families currently dominate global aviation sales and still roll off active production lines in 2025. They range from a small four-seat trainer to the world’s most fuel-efficient widebody jet. Together, these aircraft serve pilot training schools, regional airlines, low-cost carriers, and long-haul operators across every continent. They are the Cessna 172 Skyhawk, the Airbus A320neo family, the Boeing 737 MAX, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and the Embraer E-Jet family. Their combined order backlogs run into the thousands, and their influence on aviation’s past, present, and future is unmatched.
The rankings here are based on cumulative production numbers and active order books as of 2025. Each aircraft has earned its place through a combination of commercial success, operational reliability, and sustained airline or operator demand. This article examines what makes each aircraft a bestseller, how each one compares to its rivals, and why each continues to attract new buyers decades after its original launch.
5. Embraer E-Jet Family: Dominant Below 150 Seats
The Embraer E-Jet family, produced at Embraer’s facility in São José dos Campos, Brazil, is the world’s leading aircraft program for aircraft below 150 seats. The family includes the first-generation E1 jets (E170, E175, E190, E195) and the newer E2 generation (E190-E2 and E195-E2). Embraer has delivered over 1,800 units of E-Jets in both the E1 and E2 generations combined. The E175 remains the only aircraft in active production below 76 seats that complies with US regional airline scope clauses, giving it a structural advantage in the American market.
Embraer delivered 78 commercial aircraft in 2025, compared with 73 in 2024. Overall group deliveries reached 244 aircraft in 2025, a marked increase from 206 in 2024. The E-Jet program holds a 29% share of the total global delivery market for aircraft below 150 seats, making Embraer the clear market leader in that segment.
Embraer E-Jet E2: A Record Sales Year In 2025
The E2 generation reached a commercial turning point in 2025. The E190-E2 and E195-E2 achieved their best-ever annual sales year in 2025, with 154 firm orders placed. Total firm orders for the E2 family reached 491, of which 424 are for the E195-E2, the largest commercial aircraft Embraer has ever built.
Key features of the Embraer E195-E2 include:
- Engines: Pratt & Whitney PW1900G geared turbofan, delivering approximately 25% lower fuel burn than the prior E195
- Seating capacity: Up to 146 passengers (maximum); typically 119–136 in airline configurations
- Range: Up to 2,600 nm (4,815 km)
- MTOW (Maximum Takeoff Weight): 61,500 kg, increased with 2024 performance enhancements
- Fuel burn improvement: 2.5% additional reduction announced at the Farnborough International Airshow in July 2024
- Aerodynamics: New-generation wing with advanced winglets and optimized airfoil profile
Major 2025 orders for the E2 family included 15 E190-E2 aircraft from All Nippon Airways (NH), who selected the type to replace regional jets after the failure of Japan’s own SpaceJet program. In August 2025, SAS confirmed a firm order for 45 E195-E2 jets, with options on 10 more.
4. Boeing 787 Dreamliner: The World’s Most Popular Widebody In Production
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, built at Boeing’s facilities in Everett, Washington, and North Charleston, South Carolina (USA), entered service with All Nippon Airways (NH) on September 25, 2011. It is currently the best-selling widebody aircraft in production globally. As of mid-2025, Boeing had amassed over 2,250 firm orders for the 787 family from 90 customers worldwide, with a backlog of approximately 993 aircraft.
Boeing delivered 88 Dreamliners in full-year 2025, up from significantly lower numbers in prior years. The company secured 368 Dreamliner orders in 2025, narrowly missing its all-time single-year record of 369 set in 2007.
3. Boeing 737 MAX: The World’s Best-Selling Narrow-Body Jet in Backlog
The Boeing 737 MAX, produced at Boeing’s facility in Renton, Washington (USA), entered service with Malindo Air on May 22, 2017. It is the fourth generation of the Boeing 737 and the primary narrow-body offering from Boeing. As of April 2026, Boeing has delivered 2,267 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and holds orders for 4,852 more, giving it the largest unfilled backlog of any single aircraft family in the world.
Boeing delivered 447 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in 2025, its highest annual total since 2018. Boeing’s total commercial deliveries of 600 aircraft in 2025 represented its best output in seven years. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved Boeing to increase its monthly 737 MAX production rate from 38 to 42 aircraft per month in October 2025, following years of production caps imposed after the 2018 and 2019 fatal accidents.
2. Airbus A320neo Family: The World’s New Best-Selling Commercial Jet
The Airbus A320neo (New Engine Option) family, produced at Airbus facilities in Toulouse (France), Hamburg (Germany), Tianjin (China), and Mobile (Alabama, USA), became the world’s best-selling commercial jet family in October 2025. The A320 family surpassed Boeing’s 737 as the world’s best-selling commercial aircraft, crossing 12,250 cumulative deliveries in just 37 years — a milestone it took Boeing 58 years to reach.
As of November 2025, the A320 family had accumulated 19,472 total firm orders from over 300 customers, including 11,366 for the A320neo sub-family alone. The backlog stood at 7,151 aircraft, with approximately 72 percent of that backlog concentrated in the A321neo variant. Airbus delivered 607 A320neo-family aircraft in full-year 2025, out of a total of 793 commercial aircraft across all programs.
1. Cessna 172 Skyhawk: The Most-Produced Aircraft in History
The Cessna 172 Skyhawk, manufactured by Textron Aviation and first flown on June 12, 1955, holds the all-time production record for any civil aircraft. Over 44,000 units have been produced since the first delivery in 1956, making it the most-built civilian aircraft in aviation history. The aircraft is still in active production today as the Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP, the only surviving variant of the original family.
Textron Aviation delivered 191 Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP units in 2025, making it the second best-selling piston aircraft in the world for that year. Textron’s full portfolio of 18 aircraft netted billings of $3.8 billion in 2025, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). The Cessna 172’s fatal accident rate is nearly three times lower than the general aviation average in the United States.
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