Airbus surpasses 2013 sales target with 170 orders booked in Sep-2013, 445 year-to-date deliveries

Airbus surpassed (04-Oct-2013) its 2013 sales target with the 170 orders booked in Sep-2013, while the 445 year-to-date deliveries were 10% higher than the same period in 2012.

• Orders: The month's new bookings involved key wins for Airbus' widebody A350 XWB and A330 aircraft, along with orders demonstrating the continued strong sales appeal of the single-aisle A320 family in both the CEO (current engine option) and NEO (new engine option) versions. Lufthansa, which is Airbus' biggest airline customer, ordered 25 A350-900s and placed options for 30 more in a transaction with the flexibility to convert some of these aircraft to the larger A350-1000. The landmark A350 acquisition came just six months after the German-based airline made the strategic decision to become an all-Airbus operator for its single-aisle fleet. Also included in new business activity is Sep-2013's second A350 XWB order from a European flagship carrier - British Airways, which contracted for 18 A350-1000s in a choice announced earlier this year by the UK operator and its International Airline Group parent company. With these bookings, Airbus has sold more than 700 A350 XWB Family aircraft one year prior to the first deliveries of the aircraft. The other widebody order in Sep-2013 was Delta Airlines' acquisition of 10 A330-300s, along with 30 A321ceo versions of the single-aisle A320 Family. This contract marks a strong return to Airbus since the US-based carrier's last order some two decades ago - with the new aircraft joining an Airbus fleet of 126 A320 Family aircraft and 32 A330s that resulted from the previous merger of Delta and Northwest Airlines. Other orders for A320 family aircraft in Sep-2013 came from International Airline Group and its Vueling airline operator, with 30 A320ceo and 32 A320neo aircraft; and BOC Aviation's 25-jetliner booking (composed of six A320ceo, four A320neo, seven A321ceo and eight A321neo versions). The month's new business brought total net orders in 2013 to 1062, with Airbus' backlog of nearly 5300 jetliners at a record level representing some eight years of production;
• Deliveries: Airbus delivered 51 aircraft in Sep-2013, led by the 40 A320 family aircraft provided to international customers. The activity included two milestone sharklet-equipped aircraft: the first A321 with these fuel-saving devices for Sichuan Airlines and the first A320 featuring sharklets to Spring Airlines. From the eight A330s delivered in Sep-2013, a total of five A330-300s went to four Asian operators (Singapore Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Garuda Indonesia and Cebu). Receiving the three A380s in Sep-2013 were Air France, British Airways and Emirates, bringing to 14 the number of the aircraft provided so far in 2013, and maintaining Airbus on track with its delivery target of 25 A380s in 2013. [more - original PR]