Airline boosts business with major China order

PARIS Airbus boosted its future business with a confirmation of a major new order from China, as a supply crunch left semi-finished jets outside its factories without engines.

The European planemaker said it had delivered 46 planes in July, down from 60 in the previous month and 47 in July 2021.

Airbus lowered its delivery forecast for the year to 700 aircraft from a previous goal of 720 after gaps in the supply chain left it without enough engines.

Several newly assembled and liveried A 320 neo jets could be seen parked, with red counterweights instead of engines, outside Airbus headquarters near Toulouse, France last week.

Airbus produces the bulk of its narrow-body jets in Toulouse and Hamburg, Germany.

In July, a tally of 46 deliveries confirmed that Airbus had delivered just over 45 jets, according to a report by the company last week.

Jefferies analyst Chloe Lemarie said August looked likely to be quiet for deliveries based on her monitoring of test flights.

Airbus shares were up 0.75 per cent on Tuesday.

Airbus handed over 343 jets, or a net total of 341 for the first seven months of the year, after deducting two A 350 jets built for Aeroflot but couldn't deliver due to sanctions.

Airbus had booked these as deliveries in its 2021 accounts but they were still on the ground in France when the West imposed sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine.

The planemaker revoked the order from Aeroflot for the two jets and on Monday said it had sold two A 350 s to Turkish Airlines.

It also announced it had cancelled orders from Aeroflot for a further four A350 s. Industry sources said these were likely to go to the same Turkish carrier.

Airbus had a major order for more than 300 aircraft from state airlines in China, announced last month, along with a handful of orders from a quiet Farnborough Airshow.

Airbus sold 656 or 843 planes this year, after adjusting for cancellations.

The Boeing Co., whose largest variant faces uncertainty over certification, was due to publish its latest delivery data on Tuesday, dominated Farnborough headlines as it tried to inject momentum into its 737 MAX.

The Airbus order numbers do not reflect the decision by the European group to break with Qatar Airways in the latest twist to a bitter contractual and safety dispute.

Airbus had revoked all outstanding orders from Qatar Airways for A 350 jets, severing all of the remaining new jet business with the Gulf carrier according to a report by Reuters last week.

The two groups have been in a rare public battle for months over the degraded exteriors of more than 20 jets the airline says could disrupt the A 350's anti-lightning defences and Airbus and European regulators insist are safe.

Industry sources say that the wholesale A 350 cancellation will be reflected in future Airbus order bulletins in September or October.