Two of the world's most major aircraft manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing, have released their latest financial reports and the overall consensus was that 2013 had been the single most successful year in terms of commercial deliveries and sales figures.
According to Airbus, the manufacturer delivered a total of 626 new aircraft in 2013 – a new record that surpassed previous year’s record of 588. A breakdown of the individual aircraft model deliveries is as follows:
|
Aircraft |
Total deliveries |
|
A320 Family |
493 |
|
A330 |
108 |
|
A380 |
25 |
Meanwhile, Boeing closed 2013 with a total of 648 aircraft deliveries. The American manufacturer continues to see rising interest in its B737 narrow-body aircraft, and the B747-8 the jumbo jet maintains considerable demand. The figures are listed as such:
|
Aircraft |
Total deliveries |
|
B737 |
440 |
|
B747 |
24 |
|
B767 |
21 |
|
B777 |
98 |
|
B787 |
65 |
Boeing has also confirmed that it had secured 1,531 gross commercial orders in 2013, which represented a new company record. The B737 continued to lead the charge with 1,208 new orders, while sales for the new B787 Dreamliner did not seem to be affected by the aircraft’s widely reported problems with a further 183 new orders. The company’s wide-body mainstay aircraft B777 also recorded 121 new orders, with Hong Kong-based carrier Cathay Pacific putting pen to paper for 21 of the new B777-9Xs (see here) and three B777-300ER (see here) just before the end of the year.
On the other end, Airbus continues to lead the industry by market share (51 per cent for aircraft above 100 seats), and established a record of 1,619 gross orders for its products last year. The “NEO: New Engine Option” programme had again proven successful, resulting in a total of 1,253 orders for the A320 aircraft. Meanwhile, the highly anticipated A350 saw a further 239 new orders in 2013, including the first ever order from JAL (see here). Gulf carrier Emirates also stunned the aviation world by placing 50 new orders for the A380 superjumbo during the Dubai Air Show (see here). The carrier's order accounted for all of Airbus' A380 sales in 2013.
For more information, visit www.airbus.com and www.boeing.com
Clement Huang
