Airbus booked orders for a total of 43 aircraft in its single-aisle A320 and widebody A330 families during November, and provided 89 jetliners from across its A220, A320, A330, A350 XWB and A380 product lines during a month that included seven first-delivery milestones with international customers.
Headlining the new business in November was the agreement for 17 additional A320neo jetliners with UK-headquartered low-cost carrier easyJet – the world’s largest airline operator of Airbus single-aisle aircraft. Also during the month, Vistara, a Delhi-based full-service airline, ordered 13 A320neo jetliners; and SaudiGulf Airlines of Saudi Arabia signed for 10 A320neo aircraft.
In the widebody category, Airbus logged orders from the company’s Airbus Defence and Space operation for three A330-200s, which will be converted into Multi-role Tanker/Transport aircraft for the French Air Force.
The new business brought Airbus’ net orders for the January-November timeframe to 380 aircraft, composed of 301 single-aisle jetliners (290 A319/A320/A321neo and 11 A319/A320/A321ceo versions) and 79 widebody aircraft (22 A330neo and seven A330ceo jetliners, along with 36 A350 XWBs and 14 A380s).
November’s deliveries were made to 54 customers, comprising two A220s, 71 A320 Family jetliners, three A330s, 11 A350 XWBs and two A380s.
The month’s “firsts” for widebody jetliner deliveries included Airbus’ initial handover of an A330neo version, providing an A330-900 to TAP Air Portugal. Additionally, Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines received its first A350-900.
Single-aisle jetliner “firsts” in November were led by the A321neo, with the following carriers receiving their initial aircraft: Arkia Israeli Airlines (positioning it as launch operator for the long-range A321LR version), British Airways, as well as Vietnam Airlines (via Aviation Capital Group). Airlines receiving their first A320neo jetliners were Oman budget airline SalamAir; along with the low-cost Saudi Arabian airline, Flynas (via BOC Aviation).
Taking the month’s order and delivery activity into account, Airbus’ overall backlog of jetliners remaining to be delivered as of 30 November stood at 7,337 aircraft, representing approximately nine years of production at current rates.
