Airbus picked up the timpani. In 2019, the European aircraft manufacturer established itself as the world's leading manufacturer and dislodged Boeing from its pedestal which it has continuously occupied since 2012. Last year, Airbus delivered 863 aircraft, up 8%, to 99 customers, compared to 800 planes in 2018. The best result in its history.
The European aircraft manufacturer can rub their hands. Indeed, it is on delivery that manufacturers receive the bulk of the sale price of their aircraft. In 2019, Airbus outclassed Boeing, whose 737 MAX medium-haul aircraft has been grounded since March after two air disasters that killed 346 passengers and crew. In the first eleven months of last year, the American manufacturer has delivered only 345 planes, more than half as much as in 2018, the year of its record, with 806 in service.
Another reason for satisfaction for Airbus, in 2019, it greatly exceeded the 1,000 order mark. A performance performed only six times since its creation. It recorded 1,131 orders, of which 768 were closed. A great success for Christian Scherer who, after the fleeting passage of Erik Schulz – who will only have remained in office for ten months -, had the heavy task of succeeding John Leahy, the legendary commercial director.
The success of the A320s is such that a company ordering today has to wait until 2024 to be delivered.
However, the group cannot completely triumph. Its results are not as good as they could have been, especially compared to the initial forecasts. In October 2019, during the presentation of the half-yearly results, the CEO, Guillaume Faury, had indeed lowered his delivery targets from 890 aircraft to around 860. Airbus was faced with delays in the production of the A321 and especially the XLR version. The aircraft appears to have been the victim of its success with airlines. The A321 XLR, the largest in its line of single aisle aircraft, is the new Swiss army knife. The aircraft combines the performance of a long-haul, particularly in terms of range, with the costs of a medium-haul.
In practice, Airbus has not been able to capitalize on the misfortunes of its rival. However, it nevertheless took the opportunity to consolidate its domination over the most buoyant sector of medium-haul. The re-engineered versions of its A320 family aircraft hold more than 70% market share. On examination, Boeing's troubles did not cause communicating vessels to benefit Airbus. With an order book that peaks at 7,482 aircraft, including 6,193 for medium-haul, impossible for Airbus, which is already struggling to keep up with its production rates, to replace Boeing.
