Airbus orders fly past Boeing in 2015
Airbus delivered 635 aircraft a year ago, a record number, compared to 629 in 2014, but well below Boeing’s 762 deliveries.
Despite signs that demand for aircraft was slowing, Airbus remained upbeat about the health of the aviation industry. Airbus opened a plant in Mobile, Alabama, last year.
The planemaking division of Airbus Group grabbed 1,036 net plane orders after cancellations, it said on Tuesday, down 29 percent from 2014, compared with Boeing’s tally of 768, a fall of 46 percent.
Airbus delivered 491 jets from the A320 family, 103 A330s, 27 A380 super-jumbos, and 14 A350 XWB planes.
Chicago-based Boeing reached a deal past year to build an assembly plant in China, as the US company tries to match Airbus’s presence in the world’s second-largest economy.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently lowered its long-term forecast for air traffic, and warned that low oil prices have hurt the economies of emerging markets such as Russian Federation and Brazil. While Airbus attracted more orders, Boeing sold more of its big-budget wide-body jets such as the 787.
“We must not mix up the problems in the financial markets with those in the real economy, especially in the air transport market”, he said, adding that the company aims to deliver about 650 jets in 2016. The manufacturer says it has a backlog of 6,787 aircraft worth $996.3 billion at list prices, though customers usually negotiate discounts. “They know there is volatility in the fuel price, they don’t expect that the barrel will remain around 35 or 40 dollars forever, and so they are preparing for the new generation”, Bregier said.
“We should be delivering the first airplane in a couple of weeks, definitely before the end of January”, he said.
In a boost to the 544-seat passenger jet, Airbus said it had won three A380 orders from a “global leading airline”. The planemaker wouldn’t reveal the customer, though it’s reported to be Japan’s All Nippon Airways. Sales chief John Leahy blamed USA engine maker Pratt & Whitney for a delay in the first delivery of the new A320neo, while Bregier publicly told France’s Zodiac Aerospace to pull up its socks following seat production delays.