by Tim Hepher
Airbus AIR.PA is on track to break aerospace order records in 2023 after a buying frenzy by European airlines and a strong month of deliveries so far, industry sources said on Tuesday.
Orders from easyJet () and Lufthansa () for a total of nearly 200 jets on Tuesday appear on track to push year-to-date gross orders above the record of around 1,800 in 2014, the peak of the last major cycle, as airlines bet on the scarcity of jets.
Gross or unadjusted orders give a rough indication of the pace of market activity in a given year, although analysts say a more widely followed indicator of an aircraft manufacturer’s performance is that of “net orders”, which exclude cancellations and conversions.
Those figures won’t be officially available until January, but the sources said there was a good chance Airbus would surpass the previous record by more than 1,500 net orders.
Airbus declined to comment on possible year-end totals ahead of the full-year announcement, expected around January 11.
Airlines are rushing to order new planes to renew their existing fleets, fearing a shortage in the years to come.
Airbus and Boeing, which also booked a large order from Lufthansa on Tuesday, could announce more contracts this month, supported by the recovery in demand after the COVID-19 pandemic, industry sources said.
This imminent record crowns the commercial career of Christian Scherer, commercial director of Airbus, who is preparing to become general manager of all activities linked to civil airliners at the beginning of next year.
The 16,000 aircraft sold by former Airbus sales executive John Leahy between 1994 and 2017 remains the highest sales record in the industry.
On Friday, Turkish Airlines announced 220 new orders from Airbus, plus 10 A350-900s that were already on Airbus’ books, without the name of the buyer being immediately disclosed. It said it was considering placing a comparable mega-order with Boeing.
DELIVERIES ARE CROACHING THE OBJECTIVE
Despite the positive end-of-year note, Airbus is also digesting a strategic loss at Thai Airways, which is finalizing an order for 80 GE-powered Boeing 787s after disagreements over pricing with longtime supplier Rolls- Royce, which powers the competing Airbus A350 and previously ordered 787s, industry sources said.
Neither party has commented on the ongoing negotiations.
Reuters first reported on December 7 that the Thai carrier was close to a deal with Boeing for 80 planes, after increasing its widebody requirements in September. A proposed parallel order for 15 narrow-body aircraft does not appear imminent.
On the industrial front, Airbus delivered 623 planes between January and November, which leaves it with 97 planes to deliver in December to reach its annual target of 720 planes.
With just over ten days until the end of the year, the total has reached some 680 planes, according to industry sources, taking some urgency away from the company’s traditional end-of-year race to reach his goal.
It is the second time since the pandemic that Airbus has attempted to reach 720 deliveries, after supply pressures scuttled the attempt last year.
After a mixed start to the year, analysts are increasingly convinced that Airbus will meet its delivery targets in 2023, but they believe that next year will be difficult, with the ramp-up of production hampered by shortages of materials and parts.