Airbus Adds 82 Aircraft To Order Book In October & Delivers 62

Airbus has disclosed its orders and delivery numbers in October, with the European original equipment manufacturer (OEM) securing 82 A320neo and A321neo orders during the month while delivering 62 aircraft to customers.

A320neo aircraft family orders only

In October, Airbus secured 82 gross orders, which were all for the A320neo aircraft family. American Airlines ordered one A321neo, while Drukair firmed up its order for three A320neo and two A321XLRs.

The Bhutan-based airline signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Airbus for the five aircraft during the Farnborough International Airshow in July.

Two undisclosed customers ordered five and ten A320neo aircraft each, with a private customer opting to buy one A320neo aircraft, an ACJ320neo.

During the month, Airbus kept all of its gross orders, with cancelations remaining identical to the removals the European OEM had reported in September.

Major Riyadh Air order

The majority of its orders came from Riyadh Air, which signed a firm agreement for 60 A321neo aircraft.

Riyadh Air and Airbus announced the order on October 30, with the airline saying that the order would enable it to have efficient flight operations with an optimal fleet mix – its other order was for 72 Boeing 787 aircraft (39 firm, 33 options) – to operate a network of 100 destinations by 2030.

“The Airbus A321neo airliner is among the most sustainable and efficient in the industry, and combined with the original widebody aircraft order announced in 2023, will ensure the optimal mix of aircraft to match Riyadh Air’s network growth.”

While Airbus and Boeing have sold out A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX aircraft family delivery slots well into the decade, in the past few months, quite a few airlines, including US-based Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, and Spirit Airlines, deferred their A320neo/A321neo deliveries to the late 2020s and early 2030s.

As a result, there could be a fair share of delivery slots that Airbus would be happy to fill with new or existing customers’ orders. Furthermore, while delayed, the European plane maker still has a goal to increase its A320neo monthly production rate to 75 by 2027.

56 narrowbody and six widebody deliveries

Nevertheless, Airbus delivered 62 aircraft during the month, 56 narrowbodies and six widebodies.

The latter was split between one A330-based Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) to the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF), while Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic welcomed one A330-900 each.

Japan Airlines and Lufthansa took delivery of an Airbus A350-1000 and A350-900, respectively, with the latter aircraft marking a significant milestone for the German airline: its first Allegris-equipped aircraft that has a first class cabin.

Later, the airline disclosed that the aircraft would enter service on November 9, flying from Munich Airport (MUC) to Bangalore Kempegowda International Airport (BLR).

Other note-worthy deliveries include two A319neo aircraft that Airbus handed over to China Southern Airlines and Tibet Airlines. With the pair of deliveries, the manufacturer only has 35 A319neos in its backlog remaining, with the type securing even fewer orders than the A318ceo (57 versus 80).

Iberia also took delivery of the world’s first-ever A321XLR, with the aircraft, registered as EC-OIL, already having entered commercial service on November 6, flying from Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD) to Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG).

In total, Airbus handed over one A220-100, seven A220-300, two A319neo, 14 A320neo, and 32 A321neo, including its derivatives, the A321LR and A321XLR, during the month.

Year-to-date (YTD), as of October 31, the European OEM had delivered 559 aircraft. Airbus outlined that its year-end goal was to produce and hand over 770 aircraft in 2024, with its previous delivery goal of around 800 aircraft being revised downward due to supply chain pressures.