by Airbus said on Thursday it would increase deliveries this year of some of the world’s most sought-after planes, bolstering its position as the largest commercial plane maker and moving further ahead of Boeing as its U.S. rival focuses on the fallout from a major aviation crisis. security. involving its line of 737 Max aircraft.
Airbus, the European aerospace giant, plans to deliver around 800 commercial aircraft this year, including the popular single-aisle A320neo, its main competitor to the 737 Max. Last year it delivered 735 aircraft, more than it had originally planned. This year’s push is aimed at meeting what Guillaume Faury, the planemaker’s chief executive, said was a strong recovery in demand for air travel after the pandemic shutdowns.
Airbus scored a record 2,094 commercial aircraft orders last year, partly due to a surge in demand for narrow-body and medium-sized aircraft from India and other fast-growing countries. This adds to the company’s extensive order book of 8,598 commercial aircraft by the end of 2023.
On the contrary, Boeing delivered 528 commercial aircraft and recorded 1,576 net orders.
Airbus reported adjusted earnings of 5.8 billion euros ($6.2 billion) in 2023, a small increase from the previous year, on revenue of more than 65 billion euros. The company added a special dividend, in addition to its usual payment, since its net cash exceeded 10 billion euros.
The company’s profits were hit by a large writedown in its space business, which Faury said Airbus was working to reverse.
But in its core commercial aircraft business, where Airbus and Boeing make most of the world’s planes, the European manufacturer is widening its lead.
To the extent that Airbus has problems, it is to meet the challenge of producing on a larger scale the thousands of airplanes that its customers have ordered. To that end, Airbus plans to raise A320neo production to 75 aircraft per month in 2026.
Boeing had planned to increase production of its 737 model to 50 planes per month around 2025. But the American company suspended its forecasts last month while it addresses quality control problems highlighted by an incident in early January, at the that a door panel exploded. on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 aircraft shortly after takeoff.
That episode has shaken Airbus’ main rival, prompting a federal investigation in the United States and forcing Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun to focus on assuring customers, regulators and the public that the company is prioritizing safety over profits. .
The crisis has slowed Boeing’s ability to produce more 737 Max planes. Boeing said it aimed to produce 42 Max planes per month this year, up from 38 per month in 2023.
But the Federal Aviation Administration announced it would limit Boeing’s ability to increase production of all 737 Max planes until the company showed it had resolved its quality control issues.
That setback has created an opportunity for Airbus to sharpen its competitive advantage.
Its main headquarters complex on the outskirts of Toulouse, in southwestern France, is a testament to how quickly the company continues to grow. Airbus opened a new assembly line in Toulouse last summer to support the development of the A321neo. And it recently cut the ribbon on a sleek new welcome center for its global customers, in preparation for a rush of deliveries in the coming years.
On Wednesday, as Faury and Airbus executives put the finishing touches on the company’s earnings announcement, two newly completed Air India A320neo planes, their tails adorned with the airline’s yellow sun logo, were parked in spaces in the new delivery center, right outside. of a cavernous blue hanger where the jets were recently mounted. Other planes, for IndiGo and British Airways, were also ready for delivery.
Airbus officials were preparing a signing ceremony for Air India officials, and airline crews were expected to board later in the evening to fly the plane to India.
“We are delivering more and we will continue to deliver more,” said Jill Lawrie, head of Airbus’ customer experience team, speaking on the new building’s panoramic terrace, which housed a cavernous hangar that used to manufacture the giant A380 superjumbo. has been converted to manufacture the A321neo. “We are growing and we need to be more efficient and create greater capacity to deliver our aircraft.”
At a news conference on Thursday, Faury emphasized the need to prioritize quality and safety over quantity, even at a time when the company is working to increase monthly production of A320neo aircraft to meet red-hot demand.
“Quantity cannot prevail over quality,” said Faury. “We don’t want to deliver a number of airplanes, we want to deliver a number of airplanes that are high quality and safe,” he said. Faury highlighted that the company had a strong risk management culture.
“The way to do it is to constantly challenge yourself,” he said, “to be afraid of what could happen and to always think about what could go wrong.”
