With its main rival hobbled by the worldwide grounding of a top-selling jet, Europe’s Airbus could seem poised to emerge as the undisputed global aerospace leader.Airbus has overtaken the American giant Boeing in some key benchmarks in 2019. And the company is now better positioned to move quickly on a new jet product.

Meanwhile, the American company is mired in efforts to get its crisis-stricken 737 MAX planes back in the sky after two deadly crashes.Still, experts say the Toulouse, France-based aviation giant faces production constraints that likely limit its ability to grab more market share.

To be sure, Boeing’s suspension of deliveries of its top-selling plane has added luster to Airbus’s solid and unscathed results.Moreover, as the MAX grounding has dragged on since March, key airline customers are becoming increasingly blunt in expressing frustration.Airbus delivered 389 planes through the end of June, an increase of 28 percent. During the same period, Boeing deliveries fell 37 percent to 239.

It was the first time since 2011 that Airbus overtook its US rival in plane deliveries, which is when the bulk of revenues are generated, effectively rendering Airbus the world’s largest aircraft maker.Airbus also has had net orders of 88 planes in 2019, compared with Boeing, which has seen a decline of 119.

At the Paris Air Show in June, Airbus announced orders for 383 planes worth $44 billion, about $10 billion more than Boeing’s take from the show.Still, a consolation prize for the US company was a letter of intent by British Airways parent IAG to buy 200 new 737 MAX planes, a vote of confidence in the aircraft.

Airbus is primed to move more quickly with commercializing a new mid-distance plane, launching the A321XLR in Paris this year, a single-aisle plane with greater range and passenger capacity of 240.Boeing also has had a plan under development for a competing jet, but the timeframe has been pushed back because of the MAX.