Proactive Investors - Airbus Group (EPA:AIR) said it delivered 735 commercial aircraft to 87 customers around the world in 2023 as demand for aircraft recovered quicker than expected.
Announcing annual sales figures, the European airplane manufacturer said its 2023 deliveries were 11% higher than in 2022. Its Commercial Aircraft business registered 2,319 gross new orders and 2,094 net new orders, ending the year with a backlog of 8,598 aircraft.
It credited the increased flexibility and capability of its global industrial system, as well as strong demand from airlines to modernise their fleets with more fuel-efficient aircraft for the gains.
“2023 was a landmark year for Airbus’ Commercial Aircraft business with exceptional sales and deliveries on the upper end of our target,” CEO Guillaume Faury said in a statement.
Newly-appointed CEO of Commercial Aircraft Christian Scherer noted that the company sold record numbers of its narrow-body A320 and long-range, wide-body A350 aircraft in 2023 and attracted seven new customers for its A350-1000 model.
“We originally anticipated aviation to recover sometime in the 2023-2025 timeframe, but what we saw in 2023 was, alongside the single-aisle market, widebody return much sooner than expected, and with vigour,” Scherer added.
“Travel is back and there is serious momentum!”