Airbus deliveries are down 35% month on month for the March period. In February the company delivered 55 new aircraft. This fell to just 36 last month as a result of the current global aviation climate.

Airbus received no new orders for the entirety of February, however, it did receive some new orders in March. In fact, the company booked 60 new aircraft orders and delivered 36 new aircraft last month.

Additionally, Airbus announced that it has revised its production rates. As such, the company only plans to construct 48 aircraft a month (excluding the Airbus A220 family). This will mean that the group will only produce 40 A320s, two A330s, and six A350s per month. We previously reported that Airbus would halt A220 manufacture at its United States Mobile site.

Let's take a look at the numbers!

Deliveries

As previously mentioned, Airbus delivered a total of 36 aircraft during the month of March. This means that the European manufacturing giant delivered 34.5% fewer aircraft than the month before.

Airbus, Deliveries, Cancellations
From 2000 to 2011, the tail flag was enlarged and raised higher on the tail. The title 'United Kingdom' was removed from the rear of the fuselage. Photo: Tom Boon - Simple Flying

However, this doesn't mean that Airbus made fewer aircraft. In fact, according to the manufacturer, it made an additional 60 aircraft during the first quarter (January to March) which weren't delivered. Many of these are likely to have been made last month.

In terms of what the manufacturer did deliver:

  • 1x Airbus A220-100;
  • 1x Airbus A220-300;
  • 18x Airbus A320neo;
  • 1x Airbus A321ceo;
  • 10x Airbus A321neo;
  • 1x Airbus A330-200 (Airbus Space and Defence);
  • 3x Airbus A350-900.

Orders

Despite the challenging climate facing the aviation industry currently, Airbus did indeed manage to book some orders in March. This will have been a welcome relief after no new orders were secured during February.

In total the following orders were added by the manufacturer:

  • Aercap:
    • 25x Airbus A320neo;
    • 25x Airbus A321neo;
  • Undisclosed:
    • 10x Airbus A350-900.
Aeroflot, Airbus A350, Paint Scheme
The first Airbus A350 is set to be delivered to the government by the end of July. Photo: Getty Images

However, slightly more worrying, and possibly a sign of the times, is how many order cancellations Airbus got during March. According to the company's figures, 22 orders had been canceled at the end of February. As of the end of March, this stands at 66 cancellations, meaning that a further 44 aircraft have been taken off the books.

The canceled aircraft are a mix of Airbus A220s, A320neo family aircraft, A330s, and A350s. LATAM canceled 10 Airbus A350 orders. Interestingly, a number of leasing companies have also lodged cancellations too. Avolon has canceled three Airbus A330-900 aircraft which we mentioned here, alongside six A320neos and two A321neos.

Airbus, Deliveries, Cancellations
SaudiGulf did not take the aircraft up. Photo: Airbus

CIT Leasing has canceled an order for one Airbus A330-900. Aviation Capital Group traded three A320neos for three A321neos. Meanwhile SMBC Aviation Capital traded one A320neo order for an A321neo. Additionally, Nordic Aviation Capital traded one Airbus A220-100 for an Airbus A220-300 order.

What do you make of Airbus' latest order count? Does the number of aircraft cancellations surprise you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.