Airbus has achieved its target of 30 A380 deliveries over the course of 2012, including 13 in the final quarter alone.
The airframer confirms it has reached the total but has yet to indicate the number it intends to deliver in 2013.
Delivery of the final aircraft for 2012 brings the global fleet to 97 of the double-deck type, but also takes the backlog down to 160 - the lowest figure at any point since A380 deliveries began in October 2007.
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| Photograph: Colin Miller |
Parent company EADS stated in July that it expected the delivery total to fall below 30 next year as Airbus coped with the knock-on effects of a wing-rib cracking problem.
Deliveries of the A380 this year have been heavily back-loaded to the second half. The airframer had only handed over 10 in the first six months of 2012.
Its target of 30 included 11 to Middle Eastern operator Emirates, which has ordered a total of 90. There are nine A380 operators and British Airways is set to become a new recipient of the type in 2013.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
