Airbus Said to Deliver 79 Planes in December

While Airbus had been widely expected to take more orders than Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) in 2015, the European aircraft maker’s ability to deliver its target of around 630 new planes was in jeopardy. But at least one report showed that Airbus delivered 79 new planes in December, to bring the company’s total for the year to 635 deliveries.

The spectacular total, attributed to “people familiar with the achievement,” was recently reported by Bloomberg. And spectacular it is, given that the number of December deliveries is nearly twice the company’s average for the month. Airbus had no comment on the report other than to reiterate that it will release order and delivery totals for 2015 on January 12.

Through November, Airbus had attained a total of 1,007 net new orders, compared with a total of 743 net new orders for its rival. In late December, Boeing added 166 net new orders to its 2015 total and, short of a miracle, will close the year just a fraction shy of the company’s goal of a one-to-one book-to-bill ratio.
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Boeing is targeting 750 to 755 deliveries in 2015, a number that easily within reach. The company had delivered 705 new planes by the end of November. Assuming that Boeing deliveries reach 755, the two companies will have delivered 1,390 new airplanes during 2015, a new record for commercial jet deliveries.

No new record on the order front, however. Adding up the two totals the 2015 order book grew by 1,750 net new orders, more than 1,000 fewer than the 2,888 net new orders placed in 2014. Uncertainty about the strength of the global economy and low fuel prices are the two likeliest reasons for downturn in new orders.