Airbus Eclipsed Boeing In Deliveries, Orders

On Thursday, Airbus announced it secured 2,094 aircraft orders in 2023—a record-breaking year for the European aircraft manufacturer. According to a company press release, 735 commercial aircraft were delivered globally last year, an 11% increase from 2022. Additionally, its current order backlog now stands at an impressive 8,598. 

“We originally anticipated aviation to recover sometime in the 2023-2025 timeframe, but what we saw in 2023 was, alongside the single-aisle market, widebody return much sooner than expected, and with vigour,” said Airbus CEO of Commercial Aircraft Christian Scherer. Last year’s record sales highlight a strong recovery for the plane maker, which has maintained the top manufacturing spot for five consecutive years, according to a Reuters report. “We have never sold as many A320s or A350s in any given year, not to mention welcoming seven new customers for the A350-1000. Travel is back and there is serious momentum!”, Scherer said. 

Meanwhile, rival Boeing continues to deal with a spate of production issues and is currently facing scrutiny over an incident involving loose bolts with its fleet of MAX 9 aircraft. Boeing said it had delivered 528 aircraft last year and secured more than 1,300 net new orders after allowing for cancellations.