Asia-Pacific airlines received just two new aircraft during April 2020, as travel restrictions stemming from the coronavirus epidemic played havoc with delivery schedules.
Only two Chinese carriers received new jets, according to Cirium fleets data. Loong Air took an Airbus A320neo and Chengdu Airlines took a Comac ARJ21.
The Loong Air A321neo is managed by CDB Leasing, while the ARJ21 – the first produced at Comac’s new Pudong factory – is managed by ICBC Leasing.
The month was extremely weak for deliveries overall, with just 13 globally. Europe saw five deliveries, all in Turkey, while North America saw six deliveries.
In late April, Airbus disclosed that it delivered 122 aircraft in the quarter to 31 March, 40 fewer than in the same period in 2019. In addition, around 60 aircraft could not be delivered at all owing to government travel restrictions.
During the first four months of 2020, Asia-Pacific airlines have received just 48 new aircraft, compared with 165 during the first four months of 2019.
Aircraft delivery numbers have also been dented by the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max since March 2019.
