Airbus deliveries increase 10% in 2012; beats target by winning 914 new orders

Airbus said it had delivered a company record of 588 aircraft to 89 customers - 17 of them new - and exceeded its order target of 650 by winning 914 gross orders. These orders included 305 CEOs, 478 NEOs, 82 A330/A340s, 40 A350 XWBs and nine A380s. Airbus' backlog sets a new industry-wide record of 4,682 aircraft valued at more than US$638 billion (Bt19 trillion).

Deliveries were 10 per cent higher than the 2011 record (534) and 2012 was the 11th year in a row of increased production. In single aisles, Airbus set a new record of 455 deliveries, against 421 in 2011. Wide-body deliveries reached a record 103 aircraft, up from 87 in 2011, underlining the success of the A330 family, which is being produced at the highest monthly production rates ever - 9.5 in 2012, rising to 10 this spring. The A380 delivery target of 30 was achieved, setting a new company record for the type, up from 26 in 2011.

Airbus' share of total aircraft sales by value (above 100 seats) in 2012 is 41 per cent gross (41.5 per cent net). Net orders reached 833 aircraft worth $96 billion. These include 739 A320 family aircraft, taking Airbus past the 9,000th single-aisle order. Of these, 478 are NEOs, confirming its market dominance of more than 62 per cent since launch. In the wide-body market, 58 A330s and 27 A350 XWBs were ordered. The A350-1000 won major endorsements from leading airlines through significant upsizing orders. In the very-large-aircraft segment, Airbus won nine out of 10 orders, demonstrating the market's preference for the A380.

In 2012, the A350 XWB progressed well. The final assembly line became fully operational, the structural assembly of the first A350 XWB that will fly was completed and "electrical power on" of the aircraft was accomplished.

Airbus Military had a successful year, delivering 29 aircraft (20 light and medium military transports, four P-3 conversions, and five A330 MRTTs). The order target was exceeded despite difficult global conditions, reaching 32 (28 C295 and four CN235). Additionally, the A330 MRTT was selected as the preferred bidder by the Indian government.

Airbus recruited 5,000 employees in 2012, increasing the global employee figure to 59,000. It targets recruiting some 3,000 this year to support all programme developments.