KUALA LUMPUR: European aircraft manufacturer Airbus landed record orders in 2023 as its commercial aircraft business registered 2,319 gross new aircraft orders and 2,094 net orders.
The plane manufacturer said its 2023 year-end backlog orders stood at 8598 airplanes.
It has also delivered 735 commercial aircraft to 87 customers worldwide with the single-aisle A320 family topping the fleet deliveries list.
Airbus chief executive officer (CEO) Guillaume Faury said 2023 was a landmark year for Airbus' commercial aircraft business with exceptional sales and deliveries on the upper end of the company's target.
"A number of factors came together to help us achieve our goals, including the increased flexibility and capability of our global industrial system as well as the strong demand for airlines to refresh their fleets with our most modern and fuel-efficient aircraft," he said in a statement.
Airbus commercial aircraft CEO Christian Scherer said the widebody aircraft demand returned much sooner than expected in 2023 alongside the narrowbody fleet as the company expected the aviation industry to recover between 2023 and 2025.
"We have never sold as many A320s or A350s in any given year, not to mention welcoming seven new customers for the A350-1000. Travel is back and there is serious momentum," Scherer, who was appointed to his post this month, said.
On Jan 13, Airbus secured an order of up to 40 new A350-1000 from Delta Air Lines with deliveries of the first 20 aircraft scheduled to start in 2026.
According to Reuters, the order would likely make Delta the first U.S. based airline to operate the aircraft model made by the European manufacturer.
Airbus said it will announce its 2023 full year financial results in February this year.
Meanwhile, Airbus' rival Boeing delivered 528 aircraft, a 10 per cent increase from 2022 with the narrow-body B737 series topping the list at 396 aircraft deliveries.
The American plane manufacturer also clocked in 1314 net new orders in 2023.
It said in announcement that the final delivery information will be released until its fourth quarter financial results are announced by end-January.
Boeing has seen a rough start in 2024 following a cabin panel blowout mid-flight on Alaska Airlines' brand new B737 MAX 9 last week.
Following the incident, Alaska Airlines and United Airlines have found loose parts on multiple of their MAX 9 airplanes.
The two airlines as well as other carriers including Turkish Airlines, Aeromexico, Lion Air and Copa Airlines have stopped flying their MAX 9s.
The US Federal Aviation Administration had ordered some 171 MAX 9 airplanes operated by U.S. airliners or in the US territory to be temporarily grounded for inspection.
For Infographic:
Airbus' full aircraft fleet deliveries for 2023 vs 2022
A220 Family: 2023 (68 aircraft) , 2022 (53 aircraft)
A320 Family: 2023 (571 aircraft), 2022 (516 aircraft)
A330 Family: 2023 (32 aircraft), 2022(32 aircraft)
A350 Family: 2023(64 aircraft), 2022(60 aircraft)
Total: 2023(735 airplanes), 2022(661* airplanes)
*After a reduction of two A350-900 from Aeroflot previously recorded as sold in Dec 2021 for which a transfer was not possible due to international sanctions against Russia.
Source: Airbus
https://www.airbus.com/sites/g/files/jlcbta136/files/2024-01/Airbus-Info...
-Infographic for Airbus. Source: Airbus
Boeing's full aircraft fleet deliveries for 2023 vs 2022
Boeing 737 Series: 2023 (396 aircraft), 2022 (387 aircraft)
Boeing 747 Series: 2023 (1 aircraft), 2022 (5 aircraft)
Boeing 767 Series: 2023 (32 aircraft), 2022 (33 aircraft)
Boeing 777 Series: 2023 (26 aircraft), 2022 (24 aircraft)
Boeing 787 Series: 2023 (73 aircraft), 2022 (31 aircraft)
Total: 2023 (528 aircraft), 2022 (480 aircraft)
Source: Boeing