Airbus narrowly missed its 2024 delivery target, provisionally delivering more than 765 planes to airlines and lessors, industry sources said citing preliminary data. The European manufacturer had planned “around 770” deliveries in 2024. But some deliveries had to be postponed amid complex negotiations between airlines, plane makers and seat suppliers, leaving the target of 770 deliveries out of reach, the sources said.
Airbus declined to comment ahead of the official announcement on January 9. Especially since the data, which is subject to a routine audit, can be modified at the last minute.
122 planes in December
The planemaker theoretically delivered more than 122 planes in December, bringing the total for the year to just over 765, the sources added. But it would have had to deliver no fewer than 127 devices in one month to reach its goal. Already at the end of November, it had 643 aircraft delivered since January, 20 more than the previous year. In November it had already recorded its best performance of the year with 84 aircraft. A performance now dethroned in December.
Airbus had nevertheless prepared the ground for missing its delivery target, telling analysts that a shortfall of less than 20 planes would not be considered significant, and therefore not serious enough to warrant a new profit warning. As a reminder, Airbus derives most of its operating profits and cash flow from commercial aircraft deliveries. Especially since these results confirm the group's rise since the start of the school year, after a low in August and September with around fifty planes per month. Furthermore, Airbus will present its forecasts for 2025 and its full results on February 20.
Despite everything, Airbus remains far from its pre-Covid levels. Starting with 2019, a record year, when it produced more than 860 aircraft. Especially since for 2024, the manufacturer revised its target downwards in July due to supply problems and avoided a second warning on results after having reached an agreement on additional deliveries of engines in November with CFM, co- company owned by GE Aerospace and Safran.
