Flight Friday: Tracking Asia-Pacific’s Shift Toward Newer Narrowbodies

As MRO Asia-Pacific approaches in Singapore, Flight Friday examines the region’s Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 fleets, comparing previous-generation aircraft with their latest variants.

Utilization in the Asia-Pacific region, in general, has taken the longest to recover to pre-COVID levels, finally getting there in 2025.

In 2023, the combined utilization of legacy 737 NG and A320 family members accounted for over 84% of the total 3,000,000+ cycles, with A320 family aircraft making up the lion’s share at 47%. Latest generation 737 MAX and A320neo family aircraft accounted for the remaining nearly 500,000 cycles.

Fast forward to year-to-date 2026 numbers, and the shift in the makeup of utilization becomes evident. The classic A320 still retains its lead, but its market share has dropped to 43%. The 737 NG is still in second at 31%. But the latest generation aircraft now accounts for over a quarter of all cycles.

With Asia-Pacific airlines having an order book of over 1,100 A320neo family aircraft and over 700 MAXs looking to replace the current 1,200+ A320ceos and 800+ 737NGs in service, the shift of utilization to the newer, more efficient platforms will continue to evolve over the coming decade.