Airbus Deliveries Drop

Airbus has published its orders and deliveries for August. Overall output significantly dropped during the month.

Airbus shipped 47 aircraft across the month, down from the 77 it delivered to customers in July, representing quite a drop.

Thus far, in 2024, Airbus has delivered 447 aircraft to customers worldwide, aiming to reach a target of 770 units. This 770 target, however, is a reduction of 30 units from the planemaker’s initial target of 800 deliveries.

The forecast reduction follows persistent supply chain difficulties, which are making it very difficult for Airbus to perform as it would like.

Supply chain issues don’t just come from an inability to acquire key parts to build, say, the fuselage of the aircraft; they also affect seats for the cabin interior, the fundamental manpower to complete jobs, engines, and almost every other element.

One of the highlights for the month, however, came from a private customer who committed to six aircraft, ranging from narrow to widebody jets.

As part of this order, Airbus said it secured purchases for three A350-900s and three A320neos, a vote of confidence in both popular aircraft types in their field.

Unfortunately, however, the end destination for these aircraft was not revealed as the deal is officially listed as from an undisclosed customer to keep the identity safe for the moment.

Away from a private customer order, Airbus confirmed that it had also added an order from Cathay Pacific to the order book across the month.

This order from the Hong Kong-based carrier followed significant studies and dialogue as the airline sought a new mid-sized widebody to support fleet renewal and growth ambitions.

The A330neo was selected, with the company committed to 30 units as part of future flying targets. This will significantly boost the A330neo programme, which has previously struggled for orders.

2024, however, has been quite the opposite. The year has been a resounding success for the A330neo, with several high-profile orders allowing the widebody’s backlog to continue growing.

In 2024, the net total orders for its commercial aircraft division were 413 when factoring in overall cancellations. Meanwhile, gross amount tallied 432.