Airbus delivered a total of 661 commercial aircraft last year, a rise of about 8% from 2021, though it fell short of earlier December targets. Net orders jumped by 62%, reaching 820 units after accounting for cancellations.
CEO Guillaume Faury commented on the year’s results, noting that while the delivery figure was below the company’s aspirational target, the achievements reflect the hard work of teams and partners amid a challenging operating environment.
As in prior years, the bulk of deliveries came from the A320 family, the company’s main revenue stream. The A320 family accounted for 516 aircraft, up from 483 in the previous year.
There was modest progress for smaller-capacity jets, with the A220 family, designed for 100 to 150 passengers, delivering 53 more aircraft than in 2021. A few more units were handed over to customers than the year before, underscoring healthy demand in the single-aisle segment.
In the long-haul, wide-body category, where demand was more fragile due to the Covid travel slowdown, Airbus delivered 92 aircraft in 2022, surpassing the 78 units shipped in the prior year.
Among wide-bodies, 32 were from the A330 family (up from 18), and 60 were from the A350 family (up from 55). The A380, which the group stopped producing in 2021 due to a limited market, was no longer part of the lineup.
Airbus signs contract for 1,078 aircraft
On the orders front, gross orders stood at 1,078 for the year, compared with 771 in 2021. After cancellations, net orders were 820, up from 507 the year prior.
The A320 family led the backlogs with 888 deliveries, up from 711 in 2021, while the A220 showed strong momentum with 127 orders, more than double the year earlier when 64 were booked.
In the dual-aisle segment, Airbus booked 63 aircraft, including a mix of 19 A330s (up from 30) and 44 A350s (up from 16). Some A350 orders included cargo configurations recently announced.
Faury highlighted that the substantial order volume across the product line, including cargo aircraft, demonstrates the strength and competitiveness of Airbus’s offerings. He affirmed the company’s plan to increase production to align with the order book.
“We are keeping our production trajectory aligned to meet demand,” he stated, signaling ongoing efforts to scale output in the coming years.
A “fragile” supply chain
In a conference call, Faury warned that the supply chain remains fragile in the near term. He expects challenges to persist into the first quarter of this year, driven by energy issues in Europe linked to geopolitical tensions and ongoing shifts in China’s policy environment.
He noted that these factors add complexity in the short term but could create positive effects in the longer run. Airbus’s commercial director, Christian Scherer, remarked that 2022 proved the market is resurging, with real improvement in both single-aisle and wide-body demand as airlines accelerate their fleet replenishment programs.
With 2023 targets still to be finalized, a decision anticipated after the upcoming financial results, Faury reaffirmed the aim to raise A320 family production by as much as 75 aircraft per month in the middle of the decade, marking a clear step toward a faster ramp-up. This acceleration would bring the average monthly rate to around 65 aircraft between now and 2024, up from the approximately 50 per month in 2022.