Airbus delivers close to 560 planes by end of year, insiders say

according to people familiar with the matter and Bloomberg.

2020's deliveries were far short of the record 863 aircraft delivered by the European plane manufacturer to customers and airlines in 2019.

In light of the travel restrictions imposed following the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's annual deliveries would be considered a success.

The deliveries put Airbus well ahead of Boeing, which only delivered over 118 aircraft by the end of November.

Airbus employs 13,500 people in the design and manufactures the wings for the A320, as well as all other civil aircraft, at its two sites in the UK. The aerospace company also has around 110,000 work in its UK supply chain.

Filton in South Gloucestershire is where the engineering and design work is done along with some manufacturing, and the site in Broughton, Wales is where all wing assembly takes place, as well as other major wing component manufacturing.

Pictured above is New Caledonian airline Aircalin taking delivery of its first A320neo, which was announced on 28th December. The aircraft joins two A330neo already delivered under the carrier’s fleet modernisation plan.

With its new fleet the airline benefits from the lowest operating costs in the respective size categories, as well as the commonality between variants of the Airbus Family.

Aircalin’s A320neo is powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1000 engines and configured in a single class layout with 168 seats.

With the A320neo, Aircalin will be able to increase capacity on its flights and open new routes across the Pacific region.

Airbus www.airbus.com