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Airbus said on Thursday it would increase deliveries of some of the world’s most sought-after airplanes this year, strengthening its position as the biggest commercial plane maker and overtaking Boeing as its US rival faces a major safety crisis. Focusing on results. This includes its 737 Max airliner.
European aerospace giant Airbus plans to deliver about 800 commercial planes this year, including the popular single-aisle A320neo, the main rival to the 737 Max. It delivered 735 aircraft last year, exceeding the original target. This year’s effort is aimed at meeting what the plane maker’s Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said was a sharp recovery in demand for air travel after pandemic lockdowns.
Airbus took orders for a record 2,094 commercial planes last year, partly due to increased demand for narrow-body and midsize jets from India and other fast-growing countries. This adds to the company’s extensive backlog of 8,598 commercial aircraft due at the end of 2023.
In contrast, Boeing delivered 528 commercial airplanes and recorded 1,576 net orders.
Airbus reported adjusted earnings of 5.8 billion euros ($6.2 billion) in 2023, a slight increase from the previous year on revenue of more than €65 billion. The company added a special dividend on top of its normal payout, as its net cash exceeded €10 billion.
Its profits were hit by a massive decline in the company’s space business, which Mr Faury said Airbus was working to turn around.
But in its core commercial jet business, where Airbus and Boeing make most of the world’s airliners, the European maker is increasing its lead.
The extent of Airbus’s problems lies in meeting the challenge of producing the thousands of jets its customers have ordered at rapid scale. To this end, Airbus plans to increase A320neo production to 75 jets per month in 2026.
Boeing had planned to increase production of its 737 models to 50 planes per month around 2025. But the U.S. company suspended its forecasts last month as it addresses quality control issues highlighted by an incident in early January in which a door panel flew off an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 plane shortly after takeoff. But.
That episode has rocked Airbus’ main rival, triggering a U.S. federal investigation and forcing Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun to focus on reassuring customers, regulators and the public that the company is profitable. But giving priority to safety.
The crisis has slowed Boeing’s ability to produce more of the 737 Max jet. Boeing said it aims to produce 42 Max jets per month this year, up from about 38 per month in 2023.
But the Federal Aviation Administration announced it would limit Boeing’s ability to ramp up production of all 737 Max planes until the company proves it has resolved its quality control issues.
That setback has created an opportunity for Airbus to sharpen its competitive edge.
Its main headquarters complex just outside Toulouse in south-western France is testament to how quickly the company is growing. Airbus opened a new assembly line in Toulouse last summer to support development of the A321neo. And it recently inaugurated a striking new welcome center for its global customers, in preparation for a rush of deliveries in the coming years.
On Wednesday, as Mr. Faury and Airbus executives finalized the company’s earnings announcement, two newly outfitted Air India A320neo jets, their tails adorned with the carrier’s yellow sun logo, slotted just outside the new delivery center. Were parked in. Of a cavernous blue hangar where jets were recently assembled. Other aircraft of IndiGo and British Airways were also ready for delivery.
Airbus officials were preparing a signing ceremony for Air India executives, and airline employees were expected to board the plane in the evening to fly it to India.
“We are delivering more and we will continue to deliver more,” said Jill Lowry, head of Airbus’ customer experience team, speaking on the expansive rooftop of the new building, where there was a cavernous hangar used to house the giant A380 superjumbo. Was done for. Converted to build the A321neo instead. “We are growing and we need to be more efficient and create higher capacity to deliver our aircraft.”
At a press conference on Thursday, Mr Faury stressed the need to prioritize quality and safety over quantity, even at a time when the company is scaling back monthly production of A320neo planes to meet overwhelming demand. Working to increase.
“It can’t be quantity over quality,” Mr Faury said. “We don’t want to deliver a lot of aircraft, we want to deliver a lot of aircraft that are high quality and safe,” he said. Mr Fourie stressed that the company has a strong culture of risk management.
“The way to do this is to constantly challenge yourself,” he said, “to be afraid of what might happen and always thinking about what could go wrong.”
