Weak Order Haul in May. Airbus A321XLR Successfully Completes First Flight
by J. Kasper Oestergaard, European Correspondent, Forecast International.
In May, Lufthansa upped the size of its cargo fleet by ordering a mix of 777-8 and 777 freighters. With this order, Lufthansa became the first European customer for the 777-8F. The German network carrier also placed an order for seven 787-9 Dreamliners. Image: The Boeing Company.
Boeing and Airbus delivered 35 and 47 commercial jets in May 2022, compared to 17 and 50 deliveries, respectively, in the same month last year. Year-to-date, Boeing and Airbus have delivered 165 and 237 aircraft, compared to 111 and 220, respectively, in the first five months of 2021. So far this year, Boeing and Airbus are 54 and 17 deliveries ahead of last year’s totals.
Following a more than challenging 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 was a year of recovery for the two largest commercial plane makers. 2022 is well underway and is expected to be another year of recovery for the commercial aircraft manufacturing industry, despite events currently unfolding in Ukraine. Boeing and Airbus still have a long way to go before deliveries are back to pre-pandemic levels, though.
For the full year 2021, Boeing delivered 340 aircraft, compared to 157 in 2020 and 380 in 2019. Boeing’s last “normal” year was 2018 – before COVID-19 and the 737 MAX grounding – when it delivered 806 jets, a level that will likely not be recaptured before 2024 or 2025. The past three years have been extremely challenging for Boeing but, despite ongoing Dreamliner quality issues and 777X delays, the outlook is bright.
The 737 MAX is approved to fly in nearly every country, and since late 2020, the fleet has flown more than one million flight hours. The aircraft, however, has not yet returned to commercial service in China despite the fact that the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) ungrounded the 737 MAX in December of last year. For…
