Airbus had a year like no other in terms of firm orders for its commercial aircraft. According to data released by the company on Thursday, 2023 ended with 2,319 gross aircraft orders.
In terms of net orders, the total reached 2,094 aircraft, by far the highest volume achieved in its history – the brand surpassed 2013, when there were 1,503 orders.
In December alone, Airbus recorded 807 gross orders, 587 of them for the A320neo family.
The most impressive agreements were from Turkish Airlines, which closed orders for 220 aircraft (150 A321neo and 70 A350), EasyJet (153 jets from the A320neo family) and an undisclosed customer who on December 21 agreed to purchase 12 A320neo and 132 A321neo.
During the year, the A321neo confirmed that it is currently the commercial aircraft most in demand on the market, reaching 1,286 net orders, or 61% of Airbus’ total orders.
The A320neo had 402 orders, while the A350-900 (148 orders), the A220-300 (134 orders) and the A350-1000 (118 planes) completed the top five positions.
Impressive backlog
However, the increase in orders puts Airbus in a pressured situation as there are 8,600 aircraft in its backlog.
For reference, in December 2021, the planemaker had 7,082 aircraft pending delivery and in 2022, 7,239 aircraft.
Therefore, in the last 12 months, the waiting list on its assembly lines grew by 1,359 planes.
Of the A321neo alone, Airbus has to deliver 4,923 aircraft in the coming years. Therefore, the goal of producing 75 A320neo family jets monthly from 2026 is more necessary than ever.
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If it could produce at this rate in 2024, Airbus would only be able to deliver all pending A320neo family aircraft in 2031.
