Yes, Boeing appears to have finally beat Airbus for net 2018 orders. The Boeing numbers anxiously await the end of year recapping of orders when compared to Airbus. It has a 300 plus unit lead at the end of November 2018. It also has announced some timely single-aisle orders in December which could be finalized in December and that finalized number will drive Boeing past Airbus for annual orders. The annual production number is a foregone conclusion thus making Boeing the largest aircraft maker in the world.
The scorecard at the end of November stood at 690 Boeing's units to the Airbus' 380 units. A variance of 310 units. It is unlikely that Airbus will take the order book during 2018. It will be the first Boeing victory in five years if Boeing holds the order lead. Note that it was a sluggish year as talk of trade wars disrupted a normal order year. This would be true for both aircraft makers in this case so it would likely require Airbus to pull more than 300 order rabbits out of its hat for a 2018 win.
Boeing has loaded its order momentum with additional Farnborough LOI's from last year's show not yet booked. Even if Boeing doesn't finalize those scattered orders it is a foot up on Airbus for 2019 orders. Both makers have some outstanding or unconfirmed orders going into the 2019 cycle. If Boeing can beat Airbus orders for two consecutive years it would mean an order trend has flipped in Boeing's favor. Boeing would be keen to win both 2018 and 2019 in an orderly fashion.
However, as always there are some more battles to win going forward and as always a possibility of an Airbus order surprise remaining in the marketplace not yet announced. It is Airbus' nature to stump Boeing by the end of year wire as often found in horse racing. However, it is unlikely it can repeat the 2017 order antics it achieved in 2017 with a massive December Indigo order coop. Boeing may have repositioned its order stance for lucrative several years runs.
No comments:
Post a Comment