Airbus Achieves Record Commercial Aircraft Deliveries In 2016

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 (Bernama) -- Airbus's commercial aircraft deliveries in 2016 were up for the 14th consecutive year, reaching a new company record of 688 aircraft delivered to 82 customers. The deliveries were eight per cent higher than the previous record of 635 set in 2015, it said in a statement Jan 11. "These included 545 single-aisle A320 family, out of which over 40 per cent were the larger A321 models," it said. The global leader in aeronautics, space and related services had also secured 731 net orders from 51 customers last year for 607 single-aisle and 124 wide-body aircraft. Its overall backlog stood at 6,874 aircraft valued at US$1,018 billion (US$1=RM4.47) at list prices as of end-2016. Fabrice Brégier, Airbus Chief Operating Officer and President of Airbus Commercial Aircraft said: "We delivered on our objectives in a challenging environment, proving our ramp-up readiness for the future. "Our strong operational performance, combined with robust market demand of the aircraft are an excellent springboard for our next steps - boosting deliveries, harnessing the advantages of digital and extending our service portfolio globally," he said. Among Airbus' notable milestones in 2016 were the delivery of its 10,000th aircraft, an A350 XWB, and the successful first flight of its largest member of the programme, the A350-1000. -- BERNAMA