Tag Archives: Airbus

Philippine Airlines has taken delivery of its first A350-1000 , becoming the 10th airline worldwide to operate the largest version of the long range leader.

The aircraft, configured in a premium three-class layout with 382 seats, will open a new chapter in Philippine Airlines’ long haul operations across the Pacific. The A350-1000’s advanced efficiency will enable the national carrier to expand its transpacific network with non-stop services to major destinations in North America.

This delivery marks the first of nine A350-1000s that Philippine Airlines will receive as part of its fleet expansion program. The new aircraft will join the airline’s existing A350-900s already in service to expand routes to the US.

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Airbus reports 766 commercial aircraft deliveries in 2024

Airbus delivered 766 commercial aircraft in 2024.
878 gross orders (826 net), including 82 A330s and 142 A350s
Demonstrates continued momentum for widebody orderbook complementing leading position in single aisle market
The 2024 year end backlog stands at 8,658 aircraft.

Airbus delivered 766 commercial aircraft to 86 customers around the world in 2024. The Commercial Aircraft business registered 878 gross new orders. As a result, its 2024 year end backlog stood at 8,658 aircraft.

Christian Scherer, CEO Commercial Aircraft at Airbus said, “2024 confirmed sustained demand for new aircraft. We won key customer decisions with most important customers and saw phenomenal momentum for our widebody orderbook, complementing our leading position in the single aisle market. On deliveries, we kept our trajectory and celebrated several landmark firsts. These include the first ever A321XLR as well as first A330neo and A350 deliveries to several customers globally.”

Airbus’ 2024 aircraft fleet deliveries

	2024	2023
A220 Family	75	68
A320 Family	602	571
A330 Family	32	32
A350 Family	57	64
Total	766	735

“Given the complex and fast-changing environment we continue to operate in, we consider 2024 a good year. It has been a massive team effort to deliver this 2024 result. A big thanks to Team Airbus who do what they do, every day, for our customers. And a big thanks to our customers for continuing to put their trust in us and grow our partnerships across the world”, he added.

Lufthansa’s “Yes to Europe” campaign on D-AIUC

Lufthansa – Yes to Europe Airbus A320-214 WL D-AIUC (msn 6006) FRA (Bernhard Ross). Image: 963016.

Lufthansa previously announced:

A message at an altitude of over ten kilometers and spread across the entire continent! With the clear statement “Yes to Europe”, several Lufthansa Group aircraft will be flying across their European home from this week on. A total of four Airbus A320 will serve as ambassadors of the European idea shortly before the European elections. The eye-catching message can be read on the fuselage and is framed by the European star wreath.

European stars in the European sky

Lufthansa and Eurowings, which even has its connection to Europe at the heart of its brand name, will be the first to do so, each sending an aircraft with special foil into the European skies from this week. Next week, one aircraft each from Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines will take off.

On May 13, 2024, all four Lufthansa Group aircraft will then meet at Brussels Airport. Lufthansa had already branded an aircraft with a commitment to Europe before the European elections in 2019.

Top Copyright Photo: Lufthansa – Yes to Europe Airbus A320-214 WL D-AIUC (msn 6006) FRA (Bernhard Ross). Image: 963016.

Lufthansa aircraft photo gallery:

IndiGo places an order for 30 Airbus A350-900 aircraft

IndiGo, India’s most preferred airline, is further defining its long-term future by
strengthening its fleet with the introduction of wide-body aircraft to its fleet. Since inception in 2006, IndiGo has been successfully building its position and is now defining its future further on the path of becoming a global aviation player.

IndiGo agreed to place an order for 30 firm A350-900 aircraft, which will enable IndiGo to spread its wings further and expand its network. From the various Indian metros, IndiGo will be able to connect to the world.

The aircraft will be powered by Rolls Royce’s Trent XWB engine. The mission capability of this aircraft coupled with the efficiency of the Trent XWB engine will offer IndiGo unprecedented optionality as it embarks on the next stage of its wonderful journey of addressing the rapidly evolving needs of the Indian customer and our nation.

Currently, IndiGo operates over 350 aircraft. Last year, in June 2023, IndiGo placed the largest ever single aircraft order by any airline for 500 aircraft with Airbus. With that, the outstanding orderbook of A320 Family aircraft stands at almost 1,000 aircraft which are yet to be delivered well into the next decade.

This IndiGo order-book comprises a mix of A320NEO, A321NEO and A321XLR aircraft.

The exact configuration of the aircraft will be decided at a later stage, and the deliveries are expected to start from 2027.

In addition to the 30 firm A350-900 order, IndiGo has Purchase Rights for an additional 70 Airbus A350 Family aircraft, at its discretion, for possible future needs under certain conditions.

In calendar year 2023, IndiGo welcomed 100 million customers onboard its flights and as such, the airline is, quite literally, giving wings to our nation. IndiGo is amongst the fastest growing airlines in the world, and this order will allow it to strengthen its growth trajectory.

Before the end of this decade, the Indian economy is expected to grow from being the world’s 5th largest today to being the 3rd largest. Specifically in aviation, the Indian government has stated its mission to ensure that by 2030 India comes into her own on the world stage of aviation leadership by building cutting-edge infrastructure and developing the country into a global aviation hub.

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Condor takes delivery of its first Airbus A320neo

Condor has taken delivery of its first Airbus A320neo (D-ANCZ) on lease from Avolon following an event in Toulouse.

The new aircraft is part of the airline’s ongoing fleet modernization which already includes the A330neo for long-haul routes. By operating aircraft from the A320 and the A330neo families, Condor will fully benefit from the advantages of commonality between these two aircraft family types.

Condor has operated the A320 family on its European route network for more than 20 years. With the introduction of the A320neo, Condor is building on this wealth of experience and benefiting from additional efficiency and comfort advantages the A320neo offers.

The new A320neo fleet will be powered by Pratt & Whitney engines and offer passengers maximum comfort with Airbus’ unique Airspace cabin. At the end of March 2024, the A320neo family had won more than 10000 orders from over 130 customers.

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Airbus cancels the 19 remaining A350-1000s for Qatar Airways

Airbus has confirmed it has cancelled the 19 outstanding orders for A350-1000s for Qatar Airways due to the on-going contractual dispute about the fuselage finishes.

in 2021, Qatar sued Airbus for at least US $1.4 billion after grounding almost half its A350 fleet over premature surface deteroration.

Qatar also refused to take delivery of any more A350s until the issue was resolved in court.

Airbus and CFM International launch a flight test demonstrator for advanced open fan architecture

Airbus and CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between GE and Safran Aircraft Engines, are collaborating to flight test CFM’s cutting-edge open fan engine architecture.

The Flight Test Demonstrator aims to mature and accelerate the development of advanced propulsion technologies, as part of CFM’s Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engine (RISE) demonstration programme, on board an Airbus A380. The flight test campaign will be performed in the second half of this decade from the Airbus Flight Test facility in Toulouse, France. Ahead of the A380 test flights, CFM will perform engine ground tests, along with flight test validation at GE Aviation’s Flight Test Operations centre in Victorville, CA, USA.

The flight test program will achieve several objectives that could contribute to future engine and aircraft efficiency improvements, including: enhanced understanding of engine/wing integration and aerodynamic performance as well as propulsive system efficiency gains; validating performance benefits, including better fuel efficiency that would provide a 20%* reduction in CO2 emissions compared to today’s most efficient engines; evaluating acoustic models; and ensuring compatibility with 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF).

This collaboration with CFM highlights the diversity of Airbus’ technology demonstrator portfolio and complements the work being carried out to evaluate concepts and mature technologies for Airbus’ zero-emission ambition. In February 2022, the two companies announced a joint flight test program to validate hydrogen propulsion capability.

Airbus and CFM, along with parent companies GE and Safran, share the ambition of fulfilling the promise they made in signing the Air Transport Action Group goal in October 2021 to achieve aviation industry net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 by developing and testing the technology necessary to make zero emissions aircraft a reality within the ambitious timeline defined.

Airbus has a long-standing relationship with CFM and its parent companies, GE Aviation and Safran and, together, the partners have established a great track record of delivering high-performance products that meet the needs of airline customers.

*Using traditional Jet-A; even greater improvements can be realised with SAF.