On Thursday, Airbus announced it secured 2,094 aircraft orders in 2023—a record-breaking year for the European aircraft manufacturer. According to a company press release, 735 commercial aircraft were delivered globally last year, an 11% increase from 2022. Additionally, its current order backlog now stands at an impressive 8,598.
“We originally anticipated aviation to recover sometime in the 2023-2025 timeframe, but what we saw in 2023 was, alongside the single-aisle market, widebody return much sooner than expected, and with vigour,” said Airbus CEO of Commercial Aircraft Christian Scherer. Last year’s record sales highlight a strong recovery for the plane maker, which has maintained the top manufacturing spot for five consecutive years, according to a Reuters report. “We have never sold as many A320s or A350s in any given year, not to mention welcoming seven new customers for the A350-1000. Travel is back and there is serious momentum!”, Scherer said.
Meanwhile, rival Boeing continues to deal with a spate of production issues and is currently facing scrutiny over an incident involving loose bolts with its fleet of MAX 9 aircraft. Boeing said it had delivered 528 aircraft last year and secured more than 1,300 net new orders after allowing for cancellations.
Well, good for Airbus. BUT, optimistically, IF Boeing successfully addresses its production problems, improves quality control, streamlines supply chains, and enhances manufacturing processes—all while getting their heads out of their ass—then, just maybe, Boeing will regain its reputation as the formidable player that they once were and can still be. Hey, if it ain’t Boeing, I ain’t goin’. ❣️
No worries, it’s transitory…
That looks like a tall order. I’ll hold my breath and this from a Boeing driver long retired.
Raf they could do all you suggest, but more likely a financial analyst will study your action list and eliminate at least one item and trim another. It seem that’s now the Boing way.
Boeing should consider some aspects of Gen. Patton’s leadership style and principles that might be relevant, such as Decisive Leadership, Focus on Training and Readiness, Strategic Vision, Aggressiveness and Initiative, Team Building, and Attention to Detail. However, given Patton’s reputation, Financial Analysts would likely be “skinned” by the General.
The damage Boeing executives and their CEO have caused in the name of a margin point of profit is being lost in greater numbers.
Reputations are slowly won and quickly lost.
Loose bolts across several planes in different areas and improperly tested software stationed between the pilot and the flight controls will cause any passenger or aircraft buyer to have second thoughts.
Time will tell how they navigate these issues. I mean, like what else could go wrong?
You really didn’t say that, did you….
Boeing likes them too complex,
Quality has now been hexed.
With every node
a failure mode, will
Customers keep writing checks?
One really big customer will. US Gov’t. Whether military, or bailout, or likely both. Too big to fail.
Too complex? That’s what we said about Airbus in the 90s. They put too much computer between the pilot and controls. Boeing was simpler, but more solidly made. Quite a reversal!