Airbus’ commercial aircraft deliveries in 2016 were up for the 14th year in a row, reaching a new company record of 688 aircraft delivered to 82 customers.

Deliveries were more than eight percent higher than the previous record of 635 set in 2015, said the European aircraft manufacturer.

These included 545 single aisle A320 Family of which 68 were A320neo, 66 A330s, 49   A350 XWBs and 28 A380s. Over 40 percent of single aisle deliveries were the larger A321 models.

Airbus achieved 731 net orders from 51 customers of which eight are new. These included 607 singles aisle and 124 wide-body aircraft. At the end of 2016, Airbus’ overall backlog stood at 6,874 aircraft valued at $1,018 billion at list prices, it said.

“We delivered on our objectives in a challenging environment, proving our ramp-up readiness for the future. I salute all our teams on this outstanding achievement,” said Fabrice Brégier, president of Airbus Commercial Aircraft and chief operating officer of Airbus.

“Our strong operational performance combined with a robust market eager to place orders and take deliveries of aircraft in all sizes are now an excellent springboard for our next steps: Boosting deliveries, harnessing the advantages of Digital and extending our service portfolio globally.”

Notable milestones in 2016 included the delivery of Airbus 10,000th aircraft – an A350 XWB and the successful first flight of the largest member of the programme: the A350-1000. Airbus also commenced deliveries of both engine variants of the A320neo, the world’s best-selling single aisle aircraft.

Meanwhile, the Pratt & Whitney powered A321neo was certified and the first US-assembled aircraft, an A321, was delivered from Mobile, Alabama, the company said.

Other milestones included the entry into service of the first A330 regional and the start of construction of the China A330 Completion and Delivery Centre, while the A330neo commenced assembly in the Final Assembly Line. The Airspace by Airbus cabin brand was launched as the new standard in passenger experience for the A330neo and A350 XWB programmes.  

Airbus also launched the Ifly A380 website enabling passengers to support differentiation and book flights on their A380 of choice, it said. - TradeArabia News Service