Airbus, Boeing and Bombardier delivered 16 of their new narrowbody aircraft in July, figures from Flight Fleets Analyzer show.
Overall, 125 commercial aircraft were handed over in July, an increase of 9% against the same month last year.
That figure includes 75 narrowbodies and 31 widebodies, with the remainder comprising 12 regional jets and seven turboprops.
Production problems on Airbus’s narrowbody line appear to be persisting, according to the latest figures, with the airframer delivering 36 A320-family aircraft in July, including only nine A320neo-family jets, marking the lowest monthly total since January.
Although the figure includes four Neos with Pratt & Whitney engines – the highest number of PW1100G-powered aircraft handed over in a single month since five were delivered in March – it seems that geared-tubofan powerplants remain a production headache.
The four PW1100G-powered aircraft were transferred to All Nippon Airways, Lufthansa, S7 Airlines and Volaris.
Five A320neos fitted with the rival CFM International Leap-1A engine were delivered to AirAsia, Air India, EasyJet, SAS and Vistara.
Boeing shipped 37 737s during the month, including five units of its new Max variant. The aircraft is now in service with Lion Air and its group carrier Malindo, Norwegian and FlyDubai. Southwest Airlines received its first of the type in August while American Airlines will take its initial aircraft in September.
Bombardier shipped two CSeries narrowbodies: a CS100 went to Swiss International Air Lines and a CS300 to Air Baltic.
NET ORDERS
Despite the output increases, the airframers saw the inevitable order slump following the Paris air show: just 27 new deals were recorded in the month, offset by two cancellations.
Direct comparison with the same month last year is distorted by large orders disclosed during the Farnborough air show in July 2016.
Sukhoi received 10 orders for its Superjet, while Boeing, ATR and Airbus disclosed seven, six and four orders, respectively.
There were no narrowbody aircraft orders in July, and ICBC Leasing was responsible for the cancellation of a pair of A321neos.
Widebody deals in July included IAG converting three of its options for A330-200s into orders for Level, its new Barcelona-based long-haul, low-cost airline. Four 777s, two 747-8s, one 787 and a single A350 were also ordered during the month by as-yet-unannounced commercial customers.
The regional aircraft commitments during the month covered Aeroflot’s order for 10 Sukhoi Superjet 100s and six ATR 72-600s ordered by Mandarin Airlines.
At the end of July, the overall aircraft order backlog stood at 14,428, down 145 on the previous month.
COMMERCIAL FLEET OVERVIEW
Passenger aircraft account for 92% of the more than 28,000 global fleet in-service, data from Fleets Analyzer shows.
There are 28,234 aircraft in service, the data reveals, together with more than 3,000 aircraft which are parked.
Additional reporting by Graham Dunn
Source: Flight International
