Last year was not a boom year for new orders for commercial jets. It was, however, a good year for deliveries. Airbus Group reported Tuesday morning that it delivered a record 635 commercial planes in 2015. Last week Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) reported delivering 762 new planes. Both totals are records.

Airbus reported 1,036 net new orders in 2015, down 29% from a total of 1,456 net new orders in 2014. Boeing’s net new order total fell even further, down from 1,432 in 2014 to 768 in 2015, a drop of 46%. Combined net new orders in 2014 totaled 2,888 compared with just 1,804 in 2015, a decline of around 37%.

Among Airbus’s deliveries this year were 491 of its single-aisle A320 family, 103 dual-aisle A330 family planes, 27 superjumbo A380s and 14 of the new A350 wide-body.

At the end of 2015, Airbus claimed a backlog of orders totaling 6,787 aircraft with a total value of $996.3 billion at list prices. Boeing’s backlog at the end of last year totaled 5,795 commercial jets, but the company did not place a value on the orders. Boeing calculates the value of its backlog on actual contract prices, so the total is much lower than the Airbus total.

Airbus said it added 897 single-aisle planes and 139 wide-bodies to its order book in 2015. Boeing added 588 of the company’s 737 narrow-body jets and 180 wide-bodies to its order book in 2015. Boeing delivered 495 narrow-bodies last year and 273 wide-bodies.

Airbus CEO Fabrice Brégier said:

This commercial and industrial performance unequivocally proves that global demand for our aircraft has remained resilient. In 2015 Airbus has also laid firm foundations for the future, increasing the capability and variety of the aircraft which we can offer to our customers.

What Brégier is reminding everyone of is that 2015 was not the anomalous year; 2014 was the anomaly. Low and falling fuel prices probably had less to do with the big year-over-year drop in orders than did the overall weakness of the global economy. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects the global fleet to grow by 3.9% in 2016, leading to a rise in seating capacity of 7.1%. Load factors — how many seats are full or how much cargo space is used — are expected to decline somewhat in 2015 compared with 2014, and if airlines add more capacity, that decline could continue into this year.

Airbus shares traded up about 2.8% in Paris Tuesday morning, at €59.68 in a 52-week range of €43.74 to €68.50.

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