European planemaker Airbus announced its summary for 2023 late on Thursday night which saw it deliver 735 aircraft against its target of 720 planes. The 735 aircraft comprised 68 A220s, 571 A320 family, 32 A330s and 64 A350s.
Europe continued to lead in deliveries with 34% of the deliveries to European customers, followed by Asia Pacific which saw 32% of Airbus deliveries in 2023. At a country level, China saw 13% of all deliveries while India recorded 10% of all Airbus deliveries in 2023. The year end summary indicates that Air India has taken delivery of all six A350-900s, first of which has already landed in India and is currently undergoing test and familiarisation flights. The five other planes are expected in the next ten weeks.
The Toulouse, France headquartered company also closed 2023 with the highest ever orders in its history. It secured 2094 new net orders (2319 gross orders) in 2023. Airbus came into existence in 1970. The earlier record for highest orders was recorded in 2013 when Airbus had bagged 1503 orders. The new orders saw 1835 orders for the A320 family and 300 for the A350. IndiGo and Air India powered these orders with IndiGo ordering 500 A320 family aircraft, while Air India signed up for 250 aircraft – 40 of which are the A350s. IndiGo signed the order and announced the deal at the Paris Air Show and was the single largest order in the history of commercial aviation. Air India signed up for 250 aircraft, signing the order at the Paris Air Show after having announced it in February. Together this comprised 36% of all orders signed in 2023. Airbus closed 2023 with a strong backlog of 8598 aircraft.
At the end of December, IndiGo had 948 aircraft as part of the backlog, while Air India had 244 aircraft as part of the backlog. India thus comprises roughly 14% of the backlog at Airbus.
“2023 was a landmark year for Airbus’ Commercial Aircraft business with exceptional sales and deliveries on the upper end of our target,” said Guillaume Faury, Airbus CEO. “A number of factors came together to help us achieve our goals, including the increased flexibility and capability of our global industrial system, as well as the strong demand from airlines to refresh their fleets with our most modern and fuel-efficient aircraft.” Guillaume added: “ This is a remarkable achievement. My thanks goes to our customers, supplier partners and all the Airbus teams who made it happen.”