Airbus Orders Cancelled

In July, Airbus saw a handful of order cancellations, including one for its A220-300, following the publishing of its commercial aircraft orders and deliveries figures.

Macquarie Financial Holdings cancelled a total of three A220-300s during July, representing one of two cancellations.

Macquarie AirFinance, as it’s known, is a global aviation lessor, one of the many currently in the industry, which was founded many years ago, aiming to provide aircraft and capital to airlines.

Additionally, the lessor provides essential management services alongside other key strategies to support airlines within the industry wherever possible.

The Group was established in 2006 following an acquisition of 87 aircraft from GATX, which resulted in the Macqaurie Group taking a 35% interest in the newly formed business.

During the development years, there was considerable growth with important openings such as offices across leading global cities such as Dublin, London, Singapore, and more. These cities are typical favourites among lessors when setting up hubs.

An acquisition for the CSeries was placed in 2014, now known as the A220, therefore indicating the lessors’ commitment to this program has been quite lengthy.

Over the following years, more orders for aircraft were placed, with the growth of the business evident and funding work conducted to increase the backlog and support more growth ambitions from airline customers who have sought lessors as a solution to capacity requirements.

The move, however, to cancel Airbus A220 orders from the backlog would not be the first time. At the beginning of the decade, the lessor decided to trim its backlog of Airbus A220.

Additionally, the lessor cancelled jets in 2021 from the A220 program. This followed its order in 2014, which has been continuously reduced in numbers through the years. However, this did not stop Macquarie from ordering other planes.

Other Recent Airbus Orders Cancelled

Away from Macquarie AirFinance, there was another order cancellation reported during July, with that coming from the upcoming A350F, a dedicated freighter being launched by Airbus.

Airbus reports that Martinair was the company that trimmed its eventual operation with the jet, which is part of the Air France-KLM Group and expected to welcome the next-generation plane at some point.

Just one unit was cancelled from the future fleet; the Group, however, had already confirmed its intention to reduce its overall commitment to the freighter aircraft.

The reduction came thanks to the studies conducted in the portfolio of future aircraft and the demand shifts, alongside delays and a reduced orderbook for freighter aircraft, which was seen as the best move as a result of the studies concluding.

Air France-KLM’s order tally stood at eight, with the decision made to decrease this to six. As reported by Air Cargo News at the time. The jet will still play a role in future freight flying, albeit at a reduced rate.

In the month prior, and a more significant order, Air Lease Corporation axed their entire fleet of orders for the Airbus dedicated freighter, a significant move given they were early adopters of the aircraft.

Committing to the plane during the 2021 edition of the Dubai Airshow, there were orders for seven freighters slashed from the backlog as this lessor reaffirmed its stance that the future of its business lay in providing passenger aircraft rather than purchasing a new dedicated freighter to complicate the business further.