Airbus Delivered 46 Aircraft In February And Received Orders For 99
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Last month, European aircraft manufacturer Airbus delivered 46 aircraft to 34 customers, more than doubling its delivery numbers from January. Following a settlement in the dispute with Qatar Airways over the peeling paint on the A350s, Qatar reinstated its order for 73 aircraft. With the reinstatement of Qatar's order, Airbus had 99 aircraft ordered last month.
February orders
February was a good month for Airbus in terms of deliveries. After delivering 20 aircraft in January, the manufacturer more than doubled its output last month, delivering 46 planes, 42 of which were narrowbodies. The aircraft in the Airbus A320 family are the most popular manufactured by Airbus; its order and deliveries number show that. In February, 39 of the 46 aircraft delivered were from the A320 family, 13 A320neos, and 26 A321neos.
Three A220s were delivered, two to Air France and one to Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines. Condor Airlines took delivery of another A330-900 (neo), and Turkish Airlines and China Airlines each received an A350. Rounding out its widebody orders was NATO’s Support & Procurement Agency, which received an A330-200 configured as a Multi Role Tanker Transport.
The resolution of Airbus' dispute with Qatar Airways was a very positive note for the manufacturer. After battling in courts for months over peeling paint on the A350s, the two parties reached a settlement that included the Gulf carrier reinstating its canceled orders for 73 Airbus aircraft. Of the 99 aircraft ordered last month, 73 will go to Qatar Airways, including 50 A321neos and a further 23 A350s.
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The other 26 aircraft added to Airbus' order book last month will go to three customers, two of which are unknown. British Airways ordered ten aircraft, seven A320neos, and three A321neos. An undisclosed client ordered 15 A320neos, and a private customer purchased one A319neo. To date, Airbus received orders for 136 aircraft, but orders for 12 were canceled, leaving 124 net orders for 2023.
Friends again? Putting hard feelings aside
On February 1, Qatar Airways and Airbus announced the resolution of their conflict that lasted almost two years. The settlement details were not made public, but both parties communicated that they "reached an amicable and mutually agreeable settlement."
They added that the settlement was not an admission of guilt from either party.
"Qatar Airways and Airbus are pleased to have reached an amicable and mutually agreeable settlement in relation to their legal dispute over A350 surface degradation and the grounding of A350 aircraft. A repair project is now underway and both parties look forward to getting these aircraft safely back in the air."
As mentioned above, Qatar's canceled orders for the A321neos and A350s were reinstated. Qatar withdrew the order for the neos in January 2021 and later placed an order for 25 Boeing 737 MAX and 777X freighter aircraft. The carrier will go forward with the deliveries from Boeing, adding the latest generation MAX aircraft to its modern and growing fleet.
