Europe

Airbus remains positive on yearly deliveries despite missing target

The European planemaker delivered 766 jets last year, marginally missing its goal due to supply chain disruptions.

ADVERTISEMENT

Airbus looks certain to retain its lead ahead of competitors in the aerospace industry as it confirmed it had delivered 766 jets last year.

“On deliveries, we kept our trajectory and celebrated several landmark firsts,” said Christian Scherer, CEO of Commercial Aircraft at Airbus, in a statement released on Thursday.

“Given the complex and fast-changing environment we continue to operate in, we consider 2024 a good year. It has been a massive team effort to deliver this 2024 result,” he added.

An end-of-year push was instrumental in achieving the 766 deliveries, with Airbus confirming a handover of 123 aircraft in December alone.

The delivery figure falls just short of a 770 target, and it is far below the 863 mark achieved in 2019.

The result is nonetheless considered a success following a period marred by supply chain disruptions and labour shortages.

In 2023, the planemaker delivered 735 jets.

In June 2024, the firm then issued a profit warning and downgraded its original end-of-year delivery target, which had been set at 800 planes.

Airbus also unsettled investors when it announced it would postpone its target of producing 75 aircraft a month – its A320 planes – from 2026 to 2027.

Airbus maintains that achieving this target by 2027 is realistic.

Threats to deliveries remain

In terms of new demand, Airbus recorded 826 net orders in 2024, meaning it now has a backlog of 8,658 jets.

The European planemaker declined to say how many planes it expects to build this year.

Supply chain issues still persist for engines, interiors and other aerostructural parts. 

Added to this, incoming president Donald Trump could complicate recovery for European aerospace companies if he implements threats to place tariffs on imported goods.

US firm Boeing, one of Airbus’ competitors, will also release annual data next week.

ADVERTISEMENT

The embattled firm is currently less of a threat to Airbus following a series of safety scandals, exposed after a plane door panel blew out mid-flight at the start of last year.

Boeing has since contended with worker strikes related to pay and pensions, further complicating operations.

Airbus overtook Boeing as the planemaker with the most deliveries globally in 2019, a title it has held ever since.

The loss of this title followed two deadly Boeing crashes, involving 737 Max aircraft.

ADVERTISEMENT

A total of 346 people were killed in the two crashes – the first operated by Lion Air and the second by Ethiopian Airlines.

Checkout latest world news below links :
World News || Latest News || U.S. News

Source link

Back to top button