Airbus lands record orders in 2023, beats Boeing on deliveries

Paris: Airbus on Thursday posted record annual jet orders and confirmed an 11% rise in deliveries, maintaining the top manufacturing spot against Boeing for a fifth year.

Airbus said it had won 2,319 gross orders and 2,094 net orders after cancellations as airlines scrambled to renew fleets in 2023. Confirming a Reuters report, it said it delivered 735 airplanes in 2023, leaving its order backlog at 8,598 planes.

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said the planemaker, which analysts say made a slow start to the year as it wrestled with tight supply chains, had seen "increased flexibility and capability" in its industrial system.

Christian Scherer, who stepped up from the top sales job to become CEO in January of commercial aircraft, the core plane making business, said aviation had recovered faster than expected from the pandemic. Demand for wide-body jets was rebounding particularly sharply.

"Travel is back and there is serious momentum" he said in a statement.

Boeing under fresh scrutiny

Boeing, which is still recovering from a safety grounding of its 737 MAX followed by a spate of production problems, said this week it had delivered 528 aircraft in 2023 and booked 1,314 net new orders after allowing for cancellations.

Boeing is under fresh scrutiny over production following a cabin blowout that prompted partial new grounding of one type of 737 MAX. Analysts said this is also happening against a backdrop of lingering supply tensions across the industry.