According to industry insiders on Tuesday, Airbus is expected to smash aerospace order records in 2023 following a buying frenzy by European airlines and a strong month of deliveries thus far.

As airlines bet on a shortage of aircraft, orders for a combined total of over 200 jets from easyJet and Lufthansa on Tuesday were likely to lift gross orders so far this year above the record of roughly 1,800 in 2014, the height of the last big cycle.

Although experts claim that “net orders,” which do not include cancellations and conversions, are a more closely monitored measure of a jetmaker’s profitability, gross or unadjusted orders provide a rough idea of the pace of market activity in a given year.

Although those numbers won’t be made public until January, the sources indicated that there’s a good probability Airbus will surpass the previous record of more than 1,500 net orders.

Prior to a full-year statement that is anticipated around January 11, Airbus declined to comment on potential end-of-year totals.

Fearing a shortfall in the upcoming years, airlines are rushing to acquire new aircraft to replenish their current fleets.

According to industry sources, Airbus and Boeing, who also revealed a significant order from Lufthansa on Tuesday, may announce additional agreements this month as a result of the recovery in demand following the COVID-19 epidemic.

Christian Scherer, the Chief Commercial Officer of Airbus, is gearing up to take over as CEO of the entire civil airliner business in the new year, capping a decades-long sales career.

The most consistent sales haul in the industry throughout the 1994–2017 period was 16,000 planes, according to the former Airbus sales boss John Leahy.

Turkish Airlines revealed 220 fresh Airbus orders together with 10 A350-900s that were already registered on Airbus’ books on Friday. The buyer’s identity was not immediately revealed. It has made it known that it intends to put a mega-order with Boeing on par.

Despite the year-end cheer, industry sources said that Airbus is also dealing with a strategic setback at Thai Airways, which is completing an order for 80 GE-powered Boeing 787s following price disputes with long-standing supplier Rolls-Royce, which powers the rival Airbus A350 and previously ordered 787s.

Regarding the continuing talks, none of the parties have offered any comments.

After raising its demand for wide-body aircraft in September, the Thai airline was getting closer to signing an 80-plane contract with Boeing, according to a story published by Reuters on December 7. There is little indication that a similar order for 15 narrow-body jets is going to happen anytime soon.

In terms of industry, Airbus delivered 623 aircraft from January to November; therefore, it needs to deliver an additional 97 aircraft in December to meet its yearly goal of 720 aircraft.

The number has reached about 680 planes with little over ten days remaining, according to industry insiders, which lessens the urgency of the company’s customary end-of-year rush to meet its goal.

Airbus is attempting to reach 720 deliveries for the second time since the epidemic; the first effort was unsuccessful last year due to supply constraints.

Analysts are becoming more optimistic that Airbus will fulfil its delivery targets in 2023 after the company had a slow start to the year. However, they predict that the following year will be difficult due to a scarcity of materials and parts that would hinder the production ramp-up.

(Adapted from Reuters.com)