Asiana Airlines has switched its Airbus A350-1000 orders to the long-haul twinjet’s -900 baseline model. Airbus data shows that nine A350-1000 orders previously held by Asiana were added to the Korean carrier’s A350-900 backlog in November, which now stands at 30 units. Some 13 A350-900s have been delivered to Asiana so far. Korean Air is in the process of acquiring Asiana. Korean Air does not operate A350s. Both carrier's fleets include A330ceos and A380s. Other order changes disclosed by Airbus include the cancellation of a Croatia Airlines order for four A320neos placed in 2015. In October, the Balkan carrier revealed an order for six A220-300s and has since committed to lease a further nine of the type as part of a plan to operate a single-type fleet from 2026. The airline’s in-service fleet include A319ceos, A320ceos and De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 turboprops. IAG cancelled orders for six A320neos and two A321neos. However, Airbus in November booked orders from the airline group’s subsidiaries Aer Lingus and British Airways. Two A320neos were ordered by the Irish carrier, and four A320neos, plus two A321neos, by BA. Viva Air cancelled two A320neo orders. Another 20 A320neos are still on order for the Colombian airline. Aviation Capital Group switched one A320neo order to the A321neo.

Airbus has abandoned its target of delivering around 700 commercial aircraft in 2022 after it reached 68 deliveries in November, bringing the net number for the year so far to 563. The European airframer says that it considers the target “now to be out of reach” because of the “complex environment” it is operating in. Airbus predicts the final delivery number will not fall “materially short” of the target of “around 700”. But the company adds it will be “adjusting the speed of the A320-family ramp-up to rate 65 for 2023 and 2024” because the “complex environment will persist longer than previously expected”. Until now, Airbus had planned to reach 65 A320-family deliveries in early 2024. A further target of reaching rate 75 is being maintained, the airframer notes. Despite the lower deliveries, Airbus says it “remains committed to delivering its financial guidance” for 2022 in terms of adjusted EBIT and free cash flow. Full-year order and delivery data will be disclosed on 10 January and financial results on 16 February 2023. November deliveries comprised six A220-300s, 28 A320neos, 25 A321neos, two A330-900s, one A330-800, one A330-200 and five A350-900s. Airbus booked 29 orders in November. These comprised orders from Azul Finance for three A330-900s, CDB Leasing for two A320neos, Condor for six A321neos and four A320neos, Croatia Airlines for six A220-300s, Aer Lingus for two A320neos, and British Airways for two A321neos and four A320neos. Orders for 14 aircraft were cancelled, the airframer says.

Air India has signed lease agreements for six Airbus A320neos and six Boeing B777-300ERs to further expand its existing fleet. The 12 aircraft are expected to be inducted in the first half of 2023, the flag carrier says. It adds that the A320neo narrowbodies will be deployed on its domestic/short-to-medium haul routes, while the B777-300ER widebodies will be operated on long-haul international routes. The Star Alliance member leased 30 aircraft earlier this year, including 21 A320s, four A321s and five B777-200LRs. Air India's chief executive Campbell Wilson states: "Growing our network is an essential part of Air India's Vihaan.AI transformational journey and we remain committed to increasing connectivity and frequency of flights both domestically and internationally. These additional aircraft leases will support our near term growth even as we finalise plans to refresh and significantly grow our long-term fleet." As part of its expansion plan, the airline has already resumed operations of 19 long-grounded aircraft, with nine more to follow. It has also increased the frequency of flights between key cities on the domestic sector and announced direct flights between Indian cities and key global destinations like Doha in Qatar, San Francisco in the USA, Vancouver in Canada, and Birmingham in the UK.