October was not a month to celebrate for Airbus, much less for Boeing. Both commercial aircraft manufacturers had lower-than-expected deliveries, hurting their 2024 numbers.
The European planemaker even managed to deliver more planes, a total of 62 jets, but nine units less than in October 2023.
As a result, Airbus had 559 planes delivered in 10 months, exactly the same total as in 2023.
The result undermines the company’s plans to reach the end of the year with 770 deliveries, a target that had already been revised downwards.
A320 family well behind target
Among narrowbodies, growth so far has been modest, with five more aircraft than in 2023. The A220 family delivered 53 aircraft (compared to 50 last year) and the A320, 444 aircraft (two more).
Widebodies saw a drop of five aircraft, mainly due to the lower number of deliveries of the A350 (62 versus 67 jets). Only the A330 grew, but by just one aircraft.
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Responsible for three out of every four aircraft delivered by Airbus, the A320 family has shaken the company’s goals since, while the A321neo has seen timid expansion, the A320neo has had ten fewer deliveries so far than last year.
As we know, the fault lies with the supply chain, still shaken by the pandemic. Turbofan engines are among the components that most impact aircraft manufacturers and this seems like it will only be resolved in the long term.
The price of the strike has arrived at Boeing
After a relatively good September, Boeing felt the impact of the strike on its Everett and Renton plants, where the 737, 767 and 777 are manufactured.
Only 14 aircraft were delivered in October, four of which were 787 Dreamliner, which is assembled in South Carolina and was not affected by the strike.
The 737, its workhorse, had only nine aircraft shipped to customers, the worst result of the year. In the 10 months of 2024, only 234 jets were delivered, 64 fewer than in 2023.
In addition to these, only one 767-300F was delivered and no 777F left Boeing facilities, as well as the military P-8 Poseidon and KC-46 Pegasus.
As the resumption of work at Boeing factories is expected to be slow, the coming months promise to continue with poor numbers for the company, which has so far delivered only 305 aircraft, 100 fewer than in 2023.
