Airbus has retained its crown as the world’s most prolific plane creator as it revealed that it has had its 10,000th order – knocking only rival Boeing into second place.
Speaking at a briefing at the Toulouse HQ of Airbus, its chairman Tom Enders told reporters that Airbus delivered 510 planes in 2010 and landed 574 orders worth $84 billion. He added that for 2011 the manufacturer would deliver up to 530 planes to airlines around the world.
He said: “2010 was a good year, in fact better than expected 12 months ago. The market rebound and improved programme performance has been particularly encouraging.”
Last year America’s Boeing won 530 orders and delivered 462 planes.
Of Airbus’ deliveries for 2010, 18 were A380s and 401 A320s and new orders included 452 A380s and 32 A380s. The company says it expects deliveries to increase for 2011 and Enders was buoyant about the market.
He said: “This is the result of strong airline demand for new and more eco-efficient aircraft. We respond to our customer’s requests by introducing the right technologies at the right time as per the launch of the A320neo."
Passengers will experience the smaller A320neo, with its more environmentally-friendly engine, in 2016.
At the briefing, Airbus also revealed that it had received an order for $5 billion for 60 A320s by Virgin America placed at the end of the year. Half of the planes will be neos.
by Dinah Hatch
