Although Airbus had a strong September, with a net 69 aircraft sold and 54 delivered, it still fell short of Boeing’s totals for the year to date. Nine months into 2014, Boeing still holds a significant lead over its chief rival, with 1,000 net orders and 528 deliveries, compared to Airbus’ 791 net orders and 443 deliveries.
According to the latest Airbus figures, the Toulouse-based manufacturer received a total of 1,077 aircraft orders for the nine-month period, but cancelations and conversions of orders to different models reduced the total to 791. This figure includes the conversion of IAG’s draft purchase of eight A330-200 wide-bodies into firm orders for Madrid-based Iberia Airlines, as well as also 27 firm orders for medium-range A320 aircraft by low-cost carrier easyJet.
By the end of the year, Airbus said it still has plans to reach roughly the same level of deliveries as it did in 2013 (626) and expects to see the first deliveries of its long-anticipated A350 wide-body, which received flight safety certification by the EU on Sept. 30. Leasing company AWAS also converted two orders of the slow-selling A350-800 aircraft to the larger A350-900 model last month.
Last week, Boeing reported 1,106 orders in the first nine months of 2014, adjusted to 1,000 after cancelations and order conversions. The Chicago-based firm has a target range of 715 to 725 deliveries planned by the end of the year.