Airbus recorded a strong month for single-aisle orders during October, including 59 A320neo-family jets for IAG and an agreement for 28 A321neos attributed to an undisclosed customer.
Chinese operator Xiamen Airlines booked 25 A320neos and 15 A321neos, while Jet2’s order for 35 A320neos also appeared in the backlog.
Air Canada lifted the month’s activity with its agreement for 15 A220-300s.
Airbus acknowledged 14 cancellations, comprising 11 A320neo and three A321neo jets.
These adjustments meant the airframer’s net orders for the first 10 months of the year reached 810.
Long-haul orders were absent in October, but chief executive Guillaume Faury, speaking during a third-quarter briefing, was optimistic that this business sector is close to recovering.
He says there are “very positive signs” of growing demand in the widebody sector.
“We want to be prepared for a potential significant increase in demand going forward, especially in the second part of the decade,” he adds.
Airbus’s monthly long-haul production is shifting from two to three A330neos, and from five to six A350s.
Faury says the company is assessing the ability of the supply chain to support higher rates.
Airbus has delivered 497 aircraft so far this year, including 60 in October, and is maintaining its target of 700 over the whole of 2022.
