Airbus recorded 318 new orders in November on the heels of a prolific Dubai airshow and increased its aircraft deliveries after two months during which some suppliers struggled to keep up with its upturn.
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The European aircraft manufacturer has integrated into its order book the mega-contract announced at the first major air show since the pandemic, signed with the American investment company specializing in air transport Indigo Partners. It concerns 255 single-aisle A321 for the benefit of low-cost airlines, the Hungarian Wizz Air (102), the American Frontier Airlines (91), the Mexican Volaris (39) and the Chilean Jetsmart (23). It also includes the contract signed with the Nigerian company Ibom Air for 10 A220s. During the month, the Italian public company Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA), born from the ashes of Alitalia, also ordered 28 aircraft, including 10 long-haul A330s. Easyjet, the British low-cost company, has ordered 12 A320s and Jet2.plc, another British company, 6 A321s.The remaining orders relate to undisclosed customers (4 A330s and one A320) and the Airbus military division for 2 A330s, the platform from which the A330 MRTT refueling aircraft is derived.
Many order cancellations
The aircraft manufacturer has also recorded numerous order cancellations: 75 aircraft in November (10 A220, 52 A320 and 13 A321), bringing the total number of cancellations since the start of the year to 242. These cancellations concern customers whose identity has not been disclosed or order changes (when a customer who bought an A320 finally opts for an A321 for example), we said at Airbus.
A major cancellation announced by the ailing Malaysian airline Air Asia X, the A330's main customer, has not been recorded at this stage.
In total, the aircraft manufacturer has recorded 610 orders since the start of the year, including 368 net.
58 planes delivered in November
On the delivery side, after two
“disappointing”
months
according to the admission of its president Guillaume Faury who highlighted the difficulty of certain suppliers to
“come out of a kind of 15-month hibernation”
, Airbus handed 58 planes to its customers in November, including 5 long-haul A330s and 2 A350s.
Read alsoAirbus, in shape, widens its lead over Boeing
Since the start of the year, Airbus has delivered 518 aircraft.
He will therefore have to deliver at least 82 in December if he wants to meet his target of 600 deliveries in 2021. An objective that seems within his reach: the end of years are traditionally periods of higher deliveries.
Airbus had delivered 89 planes in December 2020, in full Covid, and 138 the previous year.
