Airbus Tops Boeing In Plane Orders, Falls Short In Deliveries

The order could be increased should the planes prove effective will form just a piece of a larger strategic plan, to be unveiled at the end of January, calling for fleet renewal, they said. Both companies’ order books were dominated by the single-aisle models, the A320 and B737.

Boeing said last week its deliveries rose 5 percent to a record 762 jets, extending its lead as the largest producer.

Airbus has experienced a delay in delivering its latest model, the A320 NEO, but Leahy said the delay amounted to a matter of weeks.

The race for aircraft orders is being driven by the demand for new fuel-efficient jets, with Airbus’ first new A320neo aircraft expected to be delivered in the coming weeks and Boeing’s rival B737 MAX due to follow in 2017.

Both manufacturers recorded a substantial drop in orders a year ago as demand slowed in the aviation market after a short boom in orders. Airbus hit a company record of 635 deliveries and predicted over 650 in 2016, with new orders again exceeding deliveries.

In a boost to the 544-seat passenger jet, Airbus said it had won three A380 orders from a “global leading airline”.

Airbus CEO, Fabrice Bregier, confirmed that airbus continues with plans of building a new facility in Tianjin, and said, “We should not mix up problems we can see on the financial markets and the real economy”. More deals are in the works for this year, says John Leahy, Airbus’s chief operating officer for customers.

“We are increasing production because airlines have voted for more aircraft and have given us their deposits”, he said.

The company missed its target for 15 deliveries of the A350 in 2015 by one plane following shortages in cabin equipment.

Last November, Erik Varwijk, executive vice president commercial of Virgin Atlantic, stated that the company wishes the new aircraft to be made available from late 2018 or early 2019.

“I think if we are going to do it we should do it this year because we don’t want to let Boeing have too much of a run with the 777-9X”.

Overall, 2015 has been a year of solid and wide-ranging Airbus accomplishments.