Airbus gained significant orders for its A350 and A330 during September, Lufthansa leading a busy month with 25 A350-900s and options for 30 more in a transaction with the flexibility to convert some of these aircraft to the larger A350-1000. The A350 also won orders from British Airways, with a commitment for 18 A350-1000s.
Including these orders, Airbus has now sold more than 700 A350s a year ahead of the first deliveries.
Delta contracted for 10 A330-300s along with 30 A321s. September also saw International Airline Group (IAG) order 62 A320s for Spanish carrier Vueling and BOC Aviation’s 25-strong booking for 10 A320s and 15 A321s.
The month’s new business brought total net orders in 2013 to 1,062, with Airbus’s backlog of nearly 5,300 jetliners at a record level representing some eight years of production.
Airbus delivered 51 aircraft in September, led by 40 A320 family aircraft.
From eight A330s delivered in September, five A330-300s went to Asian operators (Singapore Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Garuda Indonesia and Cebu), further validating the aircraft’s continuing appeal in the Asia-Pacific market.
Receiving three A380s in September were Air France, British Airways and Emirates, bringing to 14 the number delivered so far in 2013, towards a target of 25 by the end of the year.
