PARIS (Reuters) – Airbus confirmed a drop of as much as 11% in first-quarter deliveries and announced the sale of four A350 freighters to an undisclosed customer on Tuesday.
The world’s largest planemaker said it had delivered 127 airplanes in the quarter, down 11% on an industrial basis from 142 in the same period last year, or down 9% after accounting for Russia sanctions-related adjustments in early 2022.
The deliveries, which included a two-thirds drop in handovers of the A350 to five aircraft in the quarter, were in line with detailed numbers published by Reuters on Friday.
Industry sources said on Friday deliveries fell short of an informal target in the high 130s, paving the way for a 12-week sprint to steady the trajectory by mid-year, when the company is expected to either confirm or review an annual target of 720 airplanes.
Airbus meanwhile sold 20 airplanes in March to bring the gross total for the year to 156 airplanes or a net total of 142 units after cancellations.
Orders included a previously announced order for 15 A350s by Lufthansa and four A350 freighters for which the buyer’s name was withheld.
Boeing is due to announce quarterly data later on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
