Airbus boosts aerospace supply chain with record orders for 2013
AIRCRAFT manufacturer Airbus has announced record sales for 2013. The company exceeded commercial targets with 626 aircraft deliveries to 93 customers, 15 of them new airlines.
In total, 493 A320 Family aircraft were despatched, 108 A330, 25 A380 and a new industry record of 1,619 gross orders – 377 A320ceo, 876 A320neo, 77 A330, 239 A350 XWB and 50 A380 – was achieved, beating the previous record in 2011 by 11 aircraft.
The year was also Airbus’ most valuable in terms of gross order intake, with a list price $240.5bn (£145.6bn). By year end, the company’s backlog had climbed to an industry-wide record of 5,559 aircraft, valued at $809bn (£491bn), equivalent to eight years production.
Aircraft deliveries in 2013 were up for the 12th year in a row, beating the initial target and surpassing the previous record set in 2012 (588) by an additional 38 aircraft.
However, the performance was not enough to beat chief rival Boeing, which had which said earlier this month that it delivered 648 planes in 2013.
Despite this, at 2013 year-end, Airbus commanded 51% gross market share (in aircraft above 100 seats) and it said decisions by airlines to move towards larger aircraft in all segments was having a positive effect on revenues, enabling Airbus to lead in both the single aisle and widebody aircraft markets.
The performance will also be welcomed by the hundreds of companies involved the aerospace supply chain, whose components are used in the manufacture of the airliners.
During the year the A320neo surpassed 2,600 orders while strong sales of the A320ceo continued with more than 1,000 sold since the NEO was launched. The A350 XWB had significant commercial breakthroughs especially with a first order from Japan, and the A380 continued to dominate the Very Large Aircraft market with 50 new orders.
Signalling Airbus’ successful transformation to a more agile company, 2013 was also notable for the A350 XWB first flight. Test flights were said to be progressing well with two aircraft having achieved over 800 flight hours. Certification is targeted for Q3 and Entry Into Service for Q4 2014.
Also, the A330 new longer range and regional variants were launched, A330 production reached a new record high of rate 10 per month and single aisle remained stable at 42.
In 2013, Airbus Military delivered 31 aircraft including seven A330 MRTT and two A400M for the French Air Force, confirming the programme is well back on track.
Airbus also hired around 3,000 people in 2013, spread across its operations in France and the UK.
Fabrice Bregier, Airbus President and CEO, said: “We are producing aircraft at all-time-highs and selling our market leading products at record levels. These benchmark results are feeding nicely into our profitability targets, and I am proud to report that the trajectory is showing strongly upwards.
“To expand our leadership in single aisles and widebodies, 2014 will be significant with the first flight of the A320neo and the Entry Into Service of the A350 XWB.”
