The world’s dominant two commercial aircraft manufacturers, Airbus of Europe and Boeing of the US, both announced on Tuesday that they had made record aircraft deliveries in 2014. Boeing set a global record for the industry with 723 commercial aircraft delivered, while Airbus achieved a company record of 629 deliveries.

This was also the thirteenth year in succession that the European group increased the number of commercial aircraft it delivered – itself a record. Also during the year, Airbus recorded 1 456 net orders while the figure for Boeing was 1 432, worth $232.7-billion at list prices (Airbus did not give a total value for its net orders).

“What the Boeing team achieved in 2014 is truly unprecedented, especially in the face of fierce competition,” affirmed Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Ray Conner. “Boeing’s achievements are based on the dedication of our talented employees, the trust that our customers place in our products and the partnership with our suppliers.”

“2014 has been an excellent year and the teams in Airbus not only delivered on, but exceeded their targets and commitments,” reported Airbus president and CEO Fabrice Brégier. “Airbus also made strong progress towards a faster, simpler and more agile company, while our strategy of incremental innovation is helping to consolidate our market-leading position in all categories.”

In terms of order backlogs, that for Boeing now stands at 5 789 aircraft, another record high for the company, while that for Airbus is currently 6 386, which is a record for the industry. Boeing did not reveal the monetary value of its backlog, but the Airbus backlog is worth $919.3-billion at list prices.

The US group reported that its wide-bodied aircraft – the Boeing 747-8, 767, 777 and 787 – made up 60% of all deliveries of aircraft in this category last year. Airbus stated that it had secured more than 50% of the market for airliners with more than 100 seats.

Airbus deliveries last year comprised 490 A320 family single-aisle (narrow-body) aircraft and 139 wide-bodied airliners, composed of 108 A330s, 30 A380s and the very first production A350 XWB. Boeing delivered 485 next-generation 737 single-aisle aircraft and 238 wide-bodied aircraft, but gave no information on the specific numbers of deliveries of its different wide-body types.