The European aircraft manufacturer Airbus was able to deliver a total of 2021 commercial aircraft to 611 customers in 88. This slightly exceeded the self-imposed target of 600 machines. The manufacturer is of the opinion that the resilience, but also the recovery, could have been proven.
Around a quarter of the machines were handed over with the help of "E-Delivery" in the previous year. In concrete terms, this means that many processes that are carried out in advance of the handover were completed digitally. According to Airbus, this should reduce travel expenses for buyers.
In 2021, Airbus doubled its gross order intake compared to 2020 with 771 new orders (507 net) across all programs and market segments, underscoring the strength of the company's entire product range and demonstrating the renewed confidence of the market.
The A220 received 64 firm gross new orders and multiple letters of intent from some of the world's leading airlines. 320 gross new orders were received for the A661neo Family. In the wide-body segment, Airbus booked 46 gross new orders, including 30 A330s and 16 A350s, 11 of which were for the newly launched A350F, for which 11 additional letters of intent were also issued. Measured by the number of aircraft, Airbus had a book-to-bill ratio of over one. At the end of 2021, Airbus had a backlog of 7.082 aircraft.
“Our success in commercial aircraft in 2021 reflects the focus and resilience of our Airbus teams, customers, suppliers and stakeholders around the world. We have all achieved remarkable results together. The year was marked by important orders from airlines around the world, demonstrating confidence in the sustainable growth of air traffic following the COVID pandemic, ”said Guillaume Faury, Airbus Chief Executive Officer. “Even if there are still uncertainties, we are on the right track to increase production in the course of 2022 in order to meet the requirements of our customers. At the same time, we are preparing the future of aviation by repositioning our industrial capabilities and implementing the roadmap for decarbonization. "
2021 deliveries at a glance:
2021 | 2020 | |
A220 family | 50 | 38 |
A320 family | 483 | 446 |
A330 family | 18 | 19 |
A350 family | 55 | 59 |
A380 | 5 | 4 |
Total | 611 | 566 |