(Paris) The American aircraft manufacturer Boeing delivered 130 planes in the first quarter, three more than its European competitor Airbus, which delivered fewer aircraft to its customers than last year, despite its desire to increase the pace.
Between January and March, Airbus delivered 127 aircraft, compared to 142 in the first three months of 2022. The slope will therefore be steep to achieve its target of 720 aircraft this year, when it had only delivered 661 a year. pass.
In question, persistent difficulties in the supply chain, faced with tensions over supply or even recruitment problems. But also the growing share of A321s to be delivered, whose fittings can be much more varied than for the A320s and therefore more at risk of finding themselves in a bottleneck.
After a catastrophic month of January (20 deliveries), the European aircraft manufacturer however picked up the momentum in February (46). In March, it handed over 61 aircraft to its customers (51 A320 Family, five A220s, three A330s and two A350s).
Boeing, for its part, did a little worse at the start of the year than in the fourth quarter of 2022 (152 deliveries), but better than over the same period last year (95).
The group mainly delivered medium-haul 737 MAX (113, including 52 in March), just coming off its production lines or coming from the large MAX reserves that Boeing is gradually selling off after the long suspension of deliveries in 2019-2020, following two fatal accidents. The group still aims to deliver more than 400 MAX this year.
Boeing was also able to resume delivery of its 787 long-haul aircraft in mid-March, interrupted at the end of February by the American agency supervising aviation while it checked an element in the certification files. It delivered just 11 in the first quarter and will therefore need to increase the pace to reach its goal of at least 70 787 deliveries by 2023.
Deliveries are a reliable indicator of profitability in aerospace, as customers pay most of the bill when they take possession of the planes.
Airbus also took 20 new orders in March, including 19 A350 widebody aircraft, including one from Lufthansa for 15 aircraft. Year-to-date, it has a balance of 142 orders, after deducting cancellations and conversions.
Boeing, for its part, recorded 60 new orders in March, for 40 medium-haul MAX and 20 long-haul 787. Over the first quarter, once cancellations and accounting adjustments are included, the American aircraft manufacturer totals a balance of 107 orders.
