In 2024, Airbus therefore manages, against all odds, to increase its production: the aircraft manufacturer had delivered 735 aircraft in 2023 and 661 in 2022. The fact remains that the level of deliveries remains below that reached before the crisis caused by Covid. As a reminder, the aircraft manufacturer managed to deliver 863 planes in 2019. And this while the workforce in its commercial division is more numerous today than they were then, with 90,000 people in 2024, compared to 81,000 5 years ago.
An efficiency deficit which also led to the launch of the “Lead! » revealed internally last summer. “Given the complex environment, we can consider the year 2024 to be a successcommented Christian Scherer, general manager of Airbus’ commercial aircraft business. But we haven’t ramped up production as quickly as our customers would have liked.»
The objective of delivering 75 A320s per month in 2027 maintained
In detail, Airbus delivered 75 A220s, 602 A320s, 32 A330s and 57 A350s last year. Particularly scrutinized since generating the largest share of the group’s turnover, the A320 constitutes the majority of the increase in delivery volumes last year. The monthly rate of the single-aisle thus increased from 43 in 2022 (with 516 aircraft), to 47 in 2023 (571 aircraft), then 50 in 2024. Which in turn reflects a slowdown in the increase in rates of the A320, past from 11% in 2023 to 5.4% in 2024.
Airbus, which convinced Safran in the fall to allocate more engines to it to the detriment of the airlines, is still pursuing the ambition of reaching a rate of 75 A320s per month during 2027, a rate that Airbus initially hoped to reach by 2025 The aircraft manufacturer will also be able to rely on two new final assembly lines in 2026, in the United States and China, bringing the number of lines dedicated to 10. its single-aisle aircraft: 4 in Hamburg (Germany), 2 in Toulouse (France), 2 in Mobile (Alabama, United States) and 2 in Tianjin (China).
While the production rates of the A320 are clearly on an upward trend, those of the other programs are experiencing less glorious developments. Airbus has only delivered 7 more A220s than in 2023. The aircraft manufacturer, however, hopes to go from a rate of 6 aircraft per month in 2023 to 14 in 2026. While deliveries of the A330 have exceeded place over the last two years, those of the A350 showed a decline last year: Airbus had delivered 64 examples of its wide-body aircraft in 2023. The objective is to reach rate 12 in 2028. Despite these stated objectives, Christian Scherer refused to specify when the pre-crisis level of deliveries will be exceeded again.
A stratospheric level of controls
If Airbus deliveries remain sluggish, orders still reflect a strong global appetite from airlines. Last year, Airbus received 826 net orders, and 878 before cancellations. The A321neo alone has 499 orders and the A320neo 115 orders. While long-haul aircraft have also won numerous orders (82 for the A330 and 138 for the A350), the A220 is performing poorly with a balance of 9 order cancellations. In 2023, the group reported an even better commercial balance sheet, with 2,094 net orders.
Ultimately, Airbus can today boast an order book comprising 8,658 aircraft, compared to 8,598 at the end of 2023. The European aircraft manufacturer has never faced such a level of contracts to honor, representing around ten years of production at the current rate of deliveries. As a result, it is looking for nothing more than to reduce these deadlines to satisfy global demand, especially since Boeing is struggling to satisfy airlines. Airbus is expected to provide details on its delivery targets for the year 2025 on Thursday February 20, during the presentation of its annual results.
Source: www.usinenouvelle.com
