Aircraft maker receives just nine new orders in April period

Airbus has announced that it logged net orders in April for nine commercial aircraft from its A320 product line from Avolon.

By April 30, Airbus’s gross orders in 2020 totalled 365 aircraft.

After cancellations the net orders stand at 299 aircraft.

The aircraft maker, which employs more than 6,000 staff at its wing-making plant in Broughton, near Chester, has seen a huge fall in activity since the coronavirus outbreak led to the grounding of aircraft fleets around the world and created huge uncertainty about the industry’s short-term future.

In February this year the aircraft maker revealed that it had received no new orders from customers.

In March it announced it was reducing production levels at Broughton, and last month it warned of the potential for deep job cuts, saying the business is “bleeding cash at an unprecedented speed”.

During the month of April, it said 14 deliveries were made from the A320, A330 and A350 XWB aircraft families.

Business in April brings the overall total orders logged by Airbus since its creation to 20,407 commercial aircraft, which includes 15,572 A320 family aircraft, 1,819 A330s, 930 A350 XWBs (extra wide body), 642 A220s and 251 A380s.

In April, 12 A320neo (new engine option) family aircraft were delivered.

For Airbus widebody aircraft, one A350 XWB was provided in the A350-900 configuration, along with one A330ceo (conventional engine option).

Among the month’s notable deliveries was the first 100% e-deliveries to Pegasus Airlines.

Airbus’s backlog of aircraft remaining to be delivered, as of April 30, stood at 7,645, and comprised 6,217 A320 family aircraft, 529 A220s, 322 A330s, 568 A350 XWBs and nine A380s.

TheBusinessDesk.com’s webinar, How to plan your way through to when restrictions are eased, saw partners from Begbies Traynor discuss the key issues facing business owners and managers in the weeks ahead.