Airbus ends “pretty exceptional” 2023 with record-high orders and strong deliveries

UPDATE – Airbus has ended 2023 with a record-high 2.094 net orders and delivered 735 commercial aircraft, the airframer reported on Thursday evening. This makes 2023 a landmark year, said President and CEO Guillaume Faury. With a sense of understatement, the fresh CEO of Commercial Aircraft, Christian Scherer, said: “Pretty exceptional.”

Airbus booked 2.319 gross orders through December, of which 807 alone in December. These include some triple-digit orders. easyJet ordered 52 A320neo and 101 A321neo aircraft or 153 in total. Including 4 A320neo’s ordered in April, that makes the 157 that was announced in the December 19 press release, says Airbus

. Turkish Airlines ordered 150 A321neo’s, 50 A350-900s, 15 A350-1000s, and 5 A350F freighters. Lessor Avolon ordered 100 A321neo’s.

Another sizeable order came from an undisclosed customer (Riyadh Air?), which was booked on December 21 for 12 A320neo and 132 A321neo aircraft. Other December orders are: Air France-KLM for 33 A350-900s and 11 -1000s (including 6 ordered in July makes 50), Lufthansa for 40 A220-300s, Delta Air Lines for 14 A220-300s, EVA Air for 15 A321neo’s and 18 A350-1000s, Qantas for 12 A350-1000s, Korean Air for 20 A321neo’s, and Cathay Pacific for 6 A350Fs. There were also orders from two undisclosed customers for 10 A220-300s and 5 A321neo’s respectively. There was also an order for one ACJ TwoTwenty and 5 A330 tankers.