For the second month in a row, perhaps not entirely surprisingly, Airbus' deliveries have fallen significantly. The plane manufacturer delivered a total of 12 aircraft from the A320 family, and two from its widebody A330 and A350 XWB families in April. That is less than half of the 36 planes it delivered to airlines in March.

Down with 60% from March

In a press release issued Thursday, Airbus announced its orders and deliveries results for the month of April. Deliveries, numbering 14 in total, were down 60% month on month from March's 36, which in turn were down by 35% from February's 55. The trajectory has, to say the least, not been very favorable.

Of narrowbody jets, Airbus delivered 12 A320neos and A321neos combined. The A320neos went to:

• One to Spirit Airlines, 7th of April
• One to Pegasus Airlines, 15th of April
• One to Flynas, 17th of April
• One to Loong Air, 28th of April
• Two to Indigo, 29th and 30th of April

The A321neos were delivered as follows:

• Two to Pegasus Airlines, 9th and 15th of April
• Two to Turkish Airlines, 17th of April
• One to Azul Brazilian Airlines, 28th of April
• One to Indigo, 29th of April

From its widebody editions, one A350 in the A350-900 configuration was delivered, and one A330ceo. The A330 went to OCCAR (European military cooperation) on the 29th, and Japan Airlines took delivery of the A350 on the 20th.

Nine A320 aircraft ordered by Avolon

While new orders also dropped from 60 in March to only nine in April, at least it was a step up from the lowest possible point of zero in February. The planemaker received net orders for nine commercial aircraft from leasing firm Avolon. The company placed the order for one A321neo and eight A320neos on the 1st of April.

The Irish plane lessor just recently canceled 75 Boeing 737 MAXs. Granted, it did the same with an Airbus order for four widebody A330neos, but it would seem it is more optimistic in regards to its smaller relative.

New e-Delivery process

Among the month's notable deliveries was the completion of Airbus' first "e-delivery" aircraft handover process. The first airline to adopt this remote end-to-end procedure was Turkish low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines, which received its three new A320neos according to the new method. Airbus said in a statement that more airlines were to follow in the coming weeks.

Airbus was already working with a digital transfer-of-title capability for some 40 to 50 deliveries last year. Still, as restrictions have caused difficulties with regular delivery protocol, it has expanded digitization to allow for a more virtual handover process.

 

If you were to place a bet, how many aircraft orders will come in over the next few months? Will we see an increase in numbers over the summer? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.