The aeronautical group’s activity was driven by single-aisle planes, which are cheaper and easier to fill, and therefore more profitable than large aircraft.
Through Le Figaro with AFP
Airbus started the year on a high note with 274 net orders recorded in January and 31 aircraft delivered, the aeronautical group announced on Thursday. The activity was driven by single aisles. The American company Spirit Airline has thus ordered 100 A320 family aircraft (47 A319neo, 33 A320neo and 20 A321neo). The contract exceeds $ 11 billion at 2018 list prices, the latest published by the aircraft manufacturer.
The American rental company Air Lease Corporation (ALC) has signed for 102 aircraft: 50 A220-300, 25 A321neo and 27 A321 XLR, the very long range version of the aircraft (8,700 km). This allows companies to open new long-haul routes between secondary cities with a single aisle, cheaper, easier to fill and therefore more profitable than large aircraft. At the 2018 list price, the order also exceeds $ 11 billion.
The European aircraft manufacturer has also signed with the Chinese lessor CALC for 40 A321neo, with the Singaporean lessor BOC Aviation for 20 A320neo, with the Philippine low-cost company Cebu Pacific for 5 A320neo and 10 A321 XLR, and with Air Senegal for 8 A220-300. For large aircraft, Air France has ordered 10 additional A350-900s and ALC a copy of this aircraft.
Airbus, which intends to reach a production rate of 63 A320 family single-aisle aircraft per month in 2021 in order to absorb an order book which amounted at the end of January to 6,249 aircraft in this range, delivered 26 in January as well as two A220 (ex-CSeries of Canadian Bombardier), two A350-900 and one A330neo.
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