Airbus delivers 8% more planes in 2022, but falls short of target

Airbus has held onto its title as the world’s biggest jet maker for the fourth year in a row, outdoing US rival Boeing, despite delivering fewer planes than planned due to supply chain issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Airbus announced it delivered 661 planes in 2022, an increase of 8% over the previous year, but fell short of its initial target of 720 aircraft.

In 2022, deliveries included:

Guillaume Faury, Airbus CEO, acknowledged that the final tally was “obviously less than we were targeting”, and blamed the shortfall on the “complexity of the operating environment” caused by the pandemic.

Like other manufacturers, including rival Boeing, Airbus struggled with shortages of raw materials and labour, as well as delays in engine deliveries.

He said: “In 2022 we served 84 customers with 661 deliveries, an increase of 8 percent compared to 2021.”

“That’s obviously less than we were targeting but given the complexity of the operating environment I want to thank the teams and our partners for the hard work and the ultimate result,”

“The significant order intake covering all our aircraft families including freighters, reflects the strength and competitiveness of our product line.”

“We continue our ramp-up trajectory to deliver on our backlog.”

Boeing reported delivery of 480 planes in 2022, compared with 340 deliveries in the previous year.