FLEET WATCH: Year 2011

Another strong year for commercial aviation

2011 was another strong year for commercial aviation as a total of 2,796 net orders were made and aircraft deliveries and order backlogs reached an all-time high.

Net orders in 2011
Net orders for 2011 represented an increase of 78% on the previous year. Apart from the regional jet market, each segment benefited from a considerable increase in orders.

Airbus emerged as the leader in the 2011 commercial order battle with 1,425 net orders for the year, while Boeing totalled 788. In the regional market, ATR, Embraer and Sukhoi booked 157, 160 and 73 orders, respectively. Comac took in 95 orders for the C919 narrowbody and 10 orders for the ARJ21. Bombardier totalled 43 orders for the CSeries and nine Q400s.

Narrowbody net orders increased by 107% on the previous year, totalling 2,026 for 2011. Airbus led with an impressive and record high intake of 1,351 orders, of which 1,165 were for the new A320neo. Boeing received 537 narrowbody net orders including 150 for its re-engined 737 Max. Widebody net orders came in at 325, an increase of 59% on the previous year. Boeing received 251 orders and Airbus 74. In the regional market, the ATR intake of 157 orders represents a record for the manufacturer.

From a regional perspective by operator, Asia-Pacific placed the most orders with 1,111 units, representing 40% of the market. North America followed with 1,005 net orders while Europe totalled 364.

Southwest Airlines was responsible for the largest number of orders during the year as the US operator ordered a total of 260 737s (including 150 737 Max, 73 737-800 and 37 737-700 aircraft). Malaysian-based AirAsia ordered 200 A320neo aircraft while India’s Indigo ordered 180 of the A320 Family, including 150 A320neo aircraft.

Lessors GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) and International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC) ordered 123 aircraft each, while Qantas ordered 110 A320 Family aircraft (including 78 orders for the A320neo). Other large orders came in during the year from American Airlines for 100 737s and six 777s, while Delta ordered 100 737-900s.

In the major cancellations of the year, DAE Capital axed a total of 142 aircraft from its order book (67 737s, 53 A320s and 23 A350s). AirTran Airways cancelled 51 737s, while CASGC scrapped 50 A320s. Jazeera Airways cancelled orders for 25 A320s.

Airliner market 10 years view - net orders

Commercial aircraft deliveries in 2011
A total of 1,255 commercial aircraft deliveries took place in 2011, including 771 narrowbody and 212 widebody aircraft, an all-time high for both market groups. Regional jet and turboprop deliveries totalled 154 and 118, respectively.

It was yet another record year for Airbus, which delivered 519 commercial aircraft in 2011, 27 more than in the year before. The manufacturer delivered 412 A320 Family aircraft as well as 81 A330s and 26 A380s.

Boeing, which delivered 446 commercial aircraft in 2010, also surpassed itself with 464 deliveries in 2011. The company delivered 359 737s, 73 777s, 20 767s and nine 747s. Boeing also introduced the new 787 to the market with three deliveries to All Nippon Airways.

In the regional market, Bombardier and Embraer delivered 103 and 102 commercial aircraft, respectively. It was a record year for ATR, which delivered 53 commercial turboprops.

From a regional perspective, 462 of the 1,255 commercial aircraft delivered in 2011 were for operators based in Asia-Pacific followed by Europe with 384.

Airliner market 10 years view - deliveries

Order backlog at 31 December 2011
Airliner backlog ended 2011 at 9,556 units, up 1,545 from the previous year. This is a new record for year-end commercial aircraft backlog. The last high point occurred at the end of 2008 when it stood at 8,332.

At the end of 2011, Southwest Airlines topped the backlog by operator and customer listing with 349 aircraft, consisting of 150 for the 737 Max, 126 737-700s and 73 737-800s. AirAsia followed with 279 aircraft on order with 79 A320-216s and 200 for the A320neo. Emirates and Indigo both showed a backlog of 227 aircraft. An additional 20 aircraft are also on backlog with DAE Capital and are destined to go to Emirates.

In the leasing market, GECAS, ILFC, Air Lease Corporation and Aviation Capital Group showed backlog figures of 251, 233, 161 and 158, respectively.