Airbus’ new business logged in September for 49 of its single-aisle and widebody jetliners included bookings that brought total orders for the A320neo (new engine option) Family to more than 4,800, while the month’s 62 deliveries reflected the continued ramp-up in Airbus aircraft production.
The transactions included Vietjet’s order for 10 A321neo and 10 A321ceo (current engine option) versions to accommodate growth on this Vietnamese carrier’s domestic and regional network – bringing Vietjet’s firm orders with Airbus to a total of 119 A320 Family aircraft, composed of 54 A320s and 65 A321s. Vietjet currently is operating a fleet of 36 A320ceo/A321ceo jetliners.
In another order from Vietnam, Jetstar Pacific Airlines finalised a purchase agreement for 10 A320ceo aircraft, marking its first direct order with Airbus. The booking by this joint venture of Vietnam Airlines and the Qantas Group will supplement an existing fleet of 12 leased A320 Family aircraft that are flying with Jetstar Pacific on domestic and regional routes.
Also included in the September transactions were eight A320neo and three A330-300 aircraft for an undisclosed customer.
Completing the month’s new business was an order for eight A330-200s, which will be converted by Airbus Defence and Space into A330 MRTT multi-role aerial tanker/transport aircraft for the French Air Force based on an order from the France’s DGA defence procurement agency.
Taking the month’s bookings and cancellations into account, Airbus net orders for 2016 totalled 380 aircraft through 30 September (composed of 304 A319/A320/A321neo aircraft, 13 A320/A321ceo versions, 16 A330ceo, 14 A330neo jetliners and 33 A350 XWBs).
The month’s deliveries were led by the A320 Family. Of the 53 single-aisle aircraft provided in September, eight were A320neo versions – with four of them received by IndiGo, two by AirAsia, along with one each for Pegasus Airlines and Volaris. AirAsia and Volaris both became new operators of the A320neo Family.
For the Airbus widebody families, among the three A330s provided to customers in September was the first for RwandAir, making the Republic of Rwanda’s national flag carrier the A330 launch operator in East Africa.
The worldwide fleet of A350 XWBs grew by five aircraft during the month, with China Airlines receiving its initial aircraft, as well as follow-on deliveries of one each to Cathay Pacific Airways, Finnair, LATAM Airlines Group and Qatar Airways.
Completing the September deliveries was an A380 for Emirates.
The month’s delivery pace also confirmed Airbus’ ramp-up of jetliner output, with a total of 462 aircraft provided to 72 customers from January through the end of September, compared to 446 deliveries during the same timeframe in 2015.
Based on the month’s order and delivery activity, Airbus’ backlog as of 30 September stood at 6,749 aircraft, composed of 5,520 A320 Family jetliners, 336 A330s, 769 A350 XWBs and 124 A380s.