Airbus Receives Record Number Of Orders In 2023 Largely From Indian Companies
European plane maker Airbus said Thursday that in 2023 they received the highest number of orders of 2094 planes, surpassing the previous record of 1,503 planes in 2013, bolstered by airlines including India”s low-cost IndiGo, which ordered 500 A320s—the biggest civil aviation order in history—as well as Air India (250 planes) and Turkish Airlines (230 planes).
Jets sold to clients reached 735, beating its own target of 720 deliveries on the back of its popular A320 family for shorter flights and the A350 for long-haul routes. This company overtook its US rival Boeing, which received 1314 aircraft orders, mainly for the 737 MAX, which is facing renewed scrutiny after the Alaska Airlines fuselage panel came off mid-flight and forced an emergency landing last week.
“We originally anticipated aviation to recover sometime in the 2023–2025 timeframe, but what we saw in 2023 was, alongside the single-aisle market, a widebody return much sooner than expected and with vigour,” commercial chief Christian Scherer said in a statement.
“We have never sold as many A320s or A350s in any given year… Travel is back, and there is serious momentum,” he said.
The company”s overall order backlog stood at 8,598 aircraft at the end of last year, including for a successor to the popular A320 family, which has been under development and is expected to be delivered in the second half of the 2030s. The company is also aiming to launch a hydrogen-powered plane, which would emit no CO2, in 2035.
