Airbus has delivered the 500th Airbus A320 family aircraft built in its Tianjin plant in China, more than a decade after the Chinese final assembly line began operations. The aircraft, an A320neo registered B-30FX, went to China Southern Airlines. It is equipped with CFM International Leap-1A engines and is configured to seat 166 passengers. Data indicates China Southern to have 35 A320neos in its fleet, with two more on order. The carrier has more than 31 A321neos as well, and operates the A320ceo family aircraft, with more than 200 examples of the type in its fleet. The Tianjin A320 final assembly line began operations in 2008, and is the first Airbus production line outside Europe. Tianjin is also home to an A330 completion and delivery centre, which opened in 2017. Says Airbus China chief George Xu: “The delivery of the 500th A320 Family aircraft assembled in Tianjin is an important achievement of Airbus in China. It is a testimony of the excellent industrial cooperation between the Chinese aviation industry and Airbus, underlining all partners' long-term commitment to the buoyant China market.”

Source: Cirium

Covid-19 and the 737 Max grounding have taken a heavy toll on Boeing Commercial Airplanes' third-quarter results, as the unit's operating loss deepened dramatically year on year, from $40 million to $1.37 billion. Boeing says the division's third-quarter revenue fell 56% to $3.6 billion as a result of lower deliveries because of the pandemic and quality issues with the 787. The airframer delivered 28 jets during the quarter, compared with 62 in the same period last year. The division's operating margin worsened to -36.1%, from -0.5% one year earlier, hit by lower deliveries and $590 million of additional costs related to the 737 programme. In presentation slides accompanying the results, Boeing notes that government support is critical for airlines, which are continuing to adjust fleet planning. The airframer expects passenger traffic to return to 2019 levels in about three years, and the previously seen long-term trends to re-emerge a few years after that. "Recovery continues, but remains slow and uneven," Boeing notes. To deal with the pandemic, the company as a whole has been cutting costs and says more remains to be done. "Boeing expects to continue lowering overall staffing levels through natural attrition as well as voluntary and involuntary workforce reductions, and recorded additional severance costs in the third quarter," it says. The manufacturer is not making changes to previously announced production rates of commercial aircraft but says it will continue to monitor market dynamics. Under those production rates, it will produce six 787s and two 777/777X jets per month in 2021, down from rates of 10 and five per month at present. Boeing confirms that 737 production rates will gradually increase to 31 per month by the beginning of 2022 "with further gradual increases to correspond with market demand". Analysts have suggested that both Boeing and Airbus may need to cut production further in 2021.

Airframers might cut aircraft production even further in 2021 owing to the depth of the pandemic-driven aerospace downturn, according to some financial analysts. “Aerospace manufacturer build rates will likely be cut over the next year as deliveries from Airbus and Boeing miss expectations,” says a recent report from Bloomberg Intelligence. “Airbus may need to cut its 40-a-month rate on the A320 unless demand improves quickly and significantly,” the report adds. It notes that Boeing has aimed to deliver, in 2021, roughly 450 737 Max – aircraft the company produced but has not delivered owing to the regulatory grounding. Reaching that goal “will be difficult, especially as airlines have little need for planes,” Bloomberg writes. Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia likewise thinks more rate cuts are possible. He notes Airbus and Boeing have been unable to deliver all the jets they are now producing. As a result, the companies are sitting on costly stockpiles of new aircraft. “It’s clear that, for a time, while there’s a surplus of already-built jets, they might just be considering lower rates,” Aboulafia says. “I think that there’s a very strong chance of it, especially on twin-aisles.” Airbus and Boeing could disclose more details about their 2021 plans in the coming days when they issue third-quarter financial results. Boeing intends to release its results on 28 October, followed by Airbus the following day. The companies trimmed commercial aircraft production rates earlier this year as the pandemic depressed demand for new jets. Airbus brought A320 rates to 40 jets monthly, down from 60. It trimmed A330 production to two jets monthly, down from roughly 4.5 monthly in 2019, and cut A350 production to six jets monthly, down from about nine monthly last year. Boeing likewise is bringing 787 production to six jets monthly, and 777 production to two jets monthly, in 2021. Prior to the pandemic, Boeing had been making 14 787s and five 777s monthly. Boeing has not specified near-term 737 Max production rates, saying only that its output will reach 31 Max monthly by early 2022. In recent days, some US airline executives have expressed optimism that demand for leisure air travel will rebound amid upcoming end-of-year holidays. Bloomberg, however, predicts “slowing leisure demand” this fall and warns of additional virus outbreaks. “Our expected delivery rates are lower than Boeing and Airbus guidance,” Bloomberg says. It anticipates Airbus and Boeing will each deliver about 30 jets (737 Max, A320neos) monthly in 2021. Bloomberg expects neither company will increase widebody production in 2021. “Demand for the largest twin-engines, the Boeing 777-9 and Airbus A350-1000, won’t rebound soon,” it says.

Source: Cirium