Airbus SAS issued its commercial aircraft delivery and new order totals for 2015, noting that it exceeded its target figure and set a new annual record for deliveries with 635 new jets supplied to 85 customers. Of those airlines, 10 were new to the list of Airbus customers.
“This commercial and industrial performance unequivocally proves that global demand for our aircraft has remained resilient,” according to Airbus president and CEO Fabrice Brégier.
It was the jet builder’s thirteenth consecutive year for rising delivery totals, passing the previous year’s total of 629. The single-aisle A320 aircraft remained the most in-demand series for Airbus, which delivered 491 of those last year. Among the larger, two-aisle designs, Airbus delivered 103 A330s, 27 A380s, and 14 A350 XWBs during 2015.
The new orders for 1,036 new aircraft Airbus posted last year pushed it well past Boeing Commercial Aircraft in that annual matchup of the two rivals. Last week Boeing reported it delivered 762 new aircraft in 2015, and drew orders for 768.
The new orders Airbus recorded came from 53 customers (eight of which are new customers), and include 897 single-aisle aircraft and 139 wide-body jets.
The new orders boosted Airbus’ backlog of business to 6,787 aircraft at the close of 2015, a total it described as a new industry record. It estimates the value of those unfilled orders as $996.3 billion (at list prices.)
“In 2015 Airbus has also laid firm foundations for the future, increasing the capability and variety of the aircraft which we can offer to our customers,” according to Brégier.
