Airbus Sells 17 Jets, But It’s Not All Good News

Airbus delivered 72 commercial aircraft in September 2026 and booked 17 new orders; however, that has put immense pressure on the final three months of the year to meet annual targets.

The European planemaker’s 72 deliveries brought its first-nine-month total to 547 aircraft, meaning it must deliver 323 commercial jets in the last three months of the year to hit the 870 target.

From manufacturing issues to other supply chain woes that have plagued the calendar year, Airbus has faced yet another challenge that hasn’t brought the expected stability. Deliveries fell to 72, down from 73 in September 2025.

Despite the year-on-year drop in deliveries over the first nine months, and even with A321neo quality concerns, A330neo woes, and other complications, Airbus raised output by 8%.

September orders slow down

September orders for Airbus were minimal, comprising two purchases, both for the A320neo family, after a couple of busier months following July’s Farnborough Airshow.

First, Egypt-based Air Cairo committed to 15 A320neo jets mid-month, while FlyOne Armenia committed to two A321neos in a historic deal priced at month’s end.

FlyOne Armenia’s purchase of the A321neos followed a memorandum of understanding announced in May 2026 and, while including only two jets, critically signals a commitment to renewal and to introducing a high-capacity next-generation option.

In August, Airbus reported 67 gross orders; September performance slowed, but that is hardly a concern as availability becomes scarcer and most airlines have committed big over the last couple of years and thus are not placing fresh orders.

Total gross orders through September for the manufacturer reached 1,174; however, after accounting for cancellations, the net tally fell slightly to 1,105, which again positions the business strongly, with multiple families extending their production backlog.

Order cancellations come for Airbus

Similarly, cancellations also played a role during the month, albeit a small number, just three involving the Airbus A220, which reduced net orders over the 30 days to 14 aircraft.

Cancellations in the first nine months of the year have reached 69 jets, with data indicating that Macquarie Financial Holdings and DAE AirFinance have reduced their A220-300 lease commitments.

The net order tally, however, helped move the backlog marginally in the right direction to 9,310, with the business seeing a drop of 58 due to 72 deliveries and 14 net orders added; however, pressure remains on the backlog.

While deliveries continue to improve, pressure remains for the last three months of the year; to hit annual targets, production across commercial programmes has not increased at previously anticipated rates, and despite the delays, inventory has still been sold at record rates.

Strong demand for next-generation jets for renewal and growth, without corresponding production increases for the respective families, has made availability scarce. An airline needing a new single-aisle A321neo won’t be able to secure delivery until the next decade if it hasn’t already committed to the type.

With a swelling backlog, Airbus has placed even greater priority on scaling production safely but quickly to start moving through it after a decade already defined by delays.