A C919 large passenger jetliner takes off at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in Shanghai, east China, Dec 26, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
Boeing reported a big jump in airplane orders for 2022, but lags Airbus for the fourth consecutive year, partly because some Chinese airlines turned to Airbus.
Boeing delivered 479 planes, while Airbus delivered 661 planes in 2022. Boeing netted orders of 774 planes, and Airbus finished ahead with 820 net orders.
In total, European aircraft maker Airbus led Boeing by 226 planes. In 2021, Boeing delivered 340 planes and gained 479 net orders.
Airbus' win over Chicago-based Boeing was largely due to orders from China. In July, Chinese carriers ordered 292 Airbus single-aisle jets, including 196 of the largest A321neo model, 82 A320neos and 14 of the smallest A319neo model.
Xiamen Airlines, previously an all-Boeing carrier, defected to Airbus in 2022 and ordered 40 jets from the A320neo family.
For some years, Chinese carriers were purchasing about one-third of all single-aisle Boeing 737s built in Renton, Washington state.
However, Chinese airlines have not ordered any Boeing planes in the past few years primarily due to the deteriorating bilateral relationship between the US and China, analysts said.
Also, China has not cleared Boeing's 737 Max to fly again since it was grounded in March 2019 due to two plane crashes that killed 346 people.
Both Boeing and Airbus acknowledged that they have large backlogs on their orders due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, ranging from supply chain disruptions to labor shortages. Boeing's official backlog stands at 4,578 planes, and Airbus' order backlog is 7,239.
Meanwhile, China is also on the verge of becoming a competitor to Boeing and Airbus. It is expected to commercially fly its own and first domestically made narrow-body jet C919 early this year. The first plane was delivered to its first customer China Eastern Airlines in December.
The jet, manufactured by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, functions as a rival to the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 Max. It seats 164 passengers in a two-cabin configuration, with eight in business class and 156 in economy. Its maximum range is about 5,500 kilometers.
Eastern ordered five C919s and expects the delivery to be completed in two years. The airline has trained its first batch of personnel, including nine pilots, 24 cabin crew members and 13 maintenance staff.
The C919 is priced at $99 million, compared with the Airbus A320neo, which costs $124 million.
