Despite Boeing’s best efforts, Airbus continues to be the leading airplane maker.
Despite rival Boeing’s efforts to deliver as many airplanes as possible before the end of the year, Airbus has maintained its position as the world’s top aircraft manufacturer.
Airbus bolstering its positions
Overall, Airbus registered 1,078 gross new orders in 2022 and delivered 661 commercial aircraft. The company, based in Toulouse, France, had 7,239 aircraft on order at year’s end as demand for commercial aircraft continued to rise after 2020.
When compared to the previous year, Airbus delivered 50 more aircraft and received 313 more orders, adding 177 more planes to its backlog.
The A320 series of items remains its most well-liked ones. Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) delivered 264 A321s, 252 A319s, and A320s. 53 A220s were also sold to consumers in different countries. The A321 replaced the A319 and A320 as the most popular single-aisle jet in Airbus’ product lineup in 2022, following the construction of 40 more A321s than in 2021. In 2022, the company shipped 10 fewer A319s and A320s.
Boeing has caught up.
Although COVID-19 reduced the market for airplanes from all manufacturers, Boeing’s positions were significantly more challenging before the virus’s onset. The production problems with the 787, which ultimately forced the suspension of wide-body aircraft deliveries between May 2021 and August 2022, as well as the 737 MAX groundings, which lasted from March 2019 to late 2020/early 2021, had a severe impact on the American OEM. So, in 2022, Boeing delivered 480 airplanes, 140 more than in 2021.
But for the US OEM, that year represents a recovery. The focus of Boeing’s year was getting things back to normal after experiencing similar supply chain problems to its European rival. Stan Deal, the CEO and President of Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA), said, “We worked hard in 2022 to stabilize 737 production, resume 787 deliveries, launch the 777-8 Freighter, and, most importantly, meet our customer commitments.”
The manufacturer released its year-end results on January 10, 2023. It delivered 69 airplanes in the final month of the year, including 53 737 MAXs. Results for the month account for 14% of all deliveries in 2022.
According to data gathered by AeroTime from planespotters.net, 14 airframes of the 53 MAXs that will be delivered in December 2022 will make their first flight sometime in 2019. 10 of the 31 Boeing 787s delivered to customers in 2022 did so in the 12th month of the year, according to statistics from planespotters.net.
The 787’s issue is that, according to analysts, it takes longer to rehabilitate one than to construct a new airframe. The 737 MAX, on the other hand, could not be claimed to have the same disadvantages, which “may imply the 787 inventory burn down would take longer than planned,” according to Ron Epstein, a Senior Equity Analyst at Bank of America, in December 2022.
Analysts: Building new Boeing 787s is more efficient than repairing existing ones.
RYTIS BERESNEVICIUS’ CIVIL AVIATION 2022-12-06
The market for wide-body aircraft is one area in which Boeing has been able to keep a competitive edge. After removing two Airbus A350s intended for Aeroflot owing to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Airbus delivered 92 twin-aisle aircraft, while the American aircraft manufacturer shipped off 93 wide-body aircraft, even though it was unable to deliver Dreamliners for the first eight months of the year.
Commercially, however, Airbus received 63 orders for twin-aisle planes from clients, including 24 for the recently introduced A350F cargo-only aircraft. The US manufacturer received 213 orders.
The CEO of Airbus, Guillaume Faury, predicted that the market for the largest commercial aircraft will experience improved growth in 2023 and 2024.
On December 13, 2022, United Airlines, a US-based airline, placed a significant order with Boeing for 100 737 MAX and 100 787 aircraft.
100 Boeing 737 MAX and 100 Boeing 787 planes were ordered by United Airlines.
