According to figures released by Airbus, 661 aircraft were handed over to 84 customers in 2022, with a backlog standing at 7,239 planes. More than one-fourth of the airplanes built in 2022 went to leasing companies, with European, American and Asia-Pacific airlines sharing all the remaining airframes evenly.
The A321 product led the delivery board with 264 planes reaching their customers during the year. The smaller A319/A320 logged 252 deliveries, followed by 60 wide-body A350 jets. The Canadian-made A220 followed with 53, and then the A330 at 32.
Airbus delivered more planes in 2022 than in the preceding two years: 50 more than in 2021 and 95 more than in 2020. Still, this is far below the record of 863 deliveries in 2019.
“That’s obviously less than we were targeting,” said Guillaume Faury, Airbus’ CEO. “But given the complexity of the operating environment, I want to thank the teams and our partners for the hard work and the ultimate result.”
Low-cost carrier IndiGo was the largest single recipient of Airbus jets in 2022, with 52. Delta followed with 42, Wizz Air with 34, lessors NAS and ALC with 30 and 29, respectively, American Airlines with 24, Air France with 17, and AerCap with 16.
Two A350-900s, previously recorded as sold in 2021, were not delivered due to international sanctions against Russia.
Considering gross new orders, the A320neo family won 888, the A220 127, the A350 44 (including 24 for the newly launched A350 Freighter) and the A330 19.
Chinese carriers led the list of buyers: China Eastern with 100 orders, China Southern with 96, and Air China with 64. Other top clients included lessor BOC Aviation with 80, IAG with 59, EasyJet with 56, and Qantas with 52. “The significant order intake covering all our aircraft families, including freighters, reflects the strength and competitiveness of our product line,” Faury said.
Overall, Airbus managed to stay on top of the competition, delivering 181 more planes and keeping a backlog that remains 33 percent larger than Boeing’s. Though the European manufacturer had planned to deliver at least 700 aircraft in 2022, supplier constraints, labor shortages and the Russia-Ukraine conflict hindered the process. Also, Boeing’s ongoing woes with its 737 MAX worldwide recertification and the 787 Dreamliner quality issues played in favor of Airbus.
