Aviation

Airbus Orders and Deliveries Commercial Aircraft – October 2019

October was a landmark month for Airbus in terms of new business, with orders logged for 415 new commercial jetliners. This includes one of the company’s largest-ever transactions with a single airline operator, and overall bookings that significantly strengthened the extra-long-range A321XLR’s market positioning – while the 77 deliveries brought the total number of A320neo/A321neo jetliners delivered to customers/operators above the 1,000 mark.

Leading October orders was Indian carrier IndiGo’s for 300 additional A320neo Family aircraft, taking its overall order for the type to 730.

Other bookings in October for the increasingly-popular A321XLR included 30 for Malaysia’s AirAsia X, 20 for Hungarian-based Wizz Air, 12 for JetSMART of Chile, and two for an unidentified customer. Another unidentified customer ordered 13 A321XLRs in a transaction that also included 12 A330-900 highly efficient wide-bodies.

Completing the A320 Family orders during the month was China Airlines’ contract for 11 A321neos; seven A320neos for Taiwan’s Tigerair; and an agreement by the U.S. based lessor Aviation Capital Group for three A320neos. Overall, the A320neo Family reached a new milestone of over 7,000 orders from 113 customers with a backlog of more than 6,000.

New transactions were also booked in October for the latest member of Airbus’ single-aisle product line: the A220. France’s Réunion Island-based airline, Air Austral, signed a firm order for three A220s, becoming the first A220 customer in the Indian Ocean region; while Air Tanzania, the A220’s initial African-based operator, extended its fleet of A220-300s with two additional aircraft.

The 77 deliveries during the month were made to 45 customers and led by the A320 Family with 59 deliveries (56 NEOs and three CEOs). Since the A320neo Family entry into service in 2016, October marked Airbus’ 1,000th A320neo Family delivery, an aircraft which was received by IndiGo.

Among the other notable deliveries in October were the first A321neo for Taiwan’s STARLUX Airlines (through lessor GECAS).

EASA issued emergency Airworthiness Directive for Airbus A320

Completing the October deliveries were four A220s, along with 14 Airbus wide-body aircraft: eight A350-900s and six A330s (four NEOs and two CEOs).

During the first 10 months of 2019, Airbus made 648 deliveries overall to 92 customers, compared with 584 aircraft over the same period of 2018 – equivalent to 64 more deliveries.

Airbus ORDERS & DELIVERIES – November 2019

Taking the latest orders and deliveries into account, Airbus’ aircraft backlog as of 31 October stood at 7,471 aircraft including 6,107 A320 Family, 436 A220 Family, 593 A350 XWBs, 284 A330s and 51 A380s.

Aviation

Boeing to Slash 17,000 Jobs Worldwide Amid Ongoing Factory Strike

Boeing to Slash 17,000 Jobs Amid Ongoing Factory Strike

Boeing, one of the world’s largest aerospace manufacturers, is facing a severe crisis. The company announced on Friday that it will lay off 17,000 employees—roughly 10% of its workforce.

This decision comes amid a prolonged strike, production delays, and ongoing safety concerns with its aircraft. Kelly Ortberg, Boeing’s CEO since August, delivered the news, stating, “Our business is in a difficult position, and it is hard to overstate the challenges we face together.

Beyond navigating our current environment, restoring our company requires tough decisions, and we will have to make structural changes to ensure we can stay competitive and deliver for our customers over the long term.”

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Boeing has been struggling financially, with the last reported profit in 2018. The company’s largest union, with 33,000 members, has been on strike for nearly a month after rejecting a labor deal. The ongoing walkout is reportedly costing Boeing around a billion dollars each month as negotiations remain at a standstill.

Compounding these issues, Boeing’s much-anticipated boeing 777x wide-body plane is now six years behind schedule, with deliveries postponed until 2026. This follows the discovery of structural damage during flight tests. Boeing also announced it will stop manufacturing its commercial 767 freighters after fulfilling its remaining orders by 2027.

Financially, the company expects to report a significant third-quarter loss—nearly $10 per share—and a total cash outflow of $1.3 billion. boeing new aircraft commercial airplane unit faces a $3 billion pretax charge, while its defense business will absorb an additional $2 billion hit.

Embraer’s E-Freighter is Certified by the FAA

The strike has severely impacted production at key boeing facilities, particularly in Seattle, where half of the company’s nearly 150,000 employees work. Since 2019, Boeing has lost approximately $25 billion.

Ortberg was brought in over the summer to help the company regain public trust following safety concerns, especially surrounding the 737 Max line, which was involved in two deadly crashes. Earlier this year, a separate incident involving a panel popping off a 737 Max mid-flight reignited concerns. A Federal Aviation Administration investigation following the event found that Boeing had failed 33 out of 89 product audits.