In 2008 Airbus delivered a new record number of 483 aircraft, 30 more than in 2007. This number is made up of 386 A320 Family aircraft, 85 A330/A340 and 12 A380s.  

The order intake in a difficult year was remarkably strong. Overall, Airbus won 777 net orders (900 new gross orders) valued at US$100 billion at catalogue prices or 54 per cent of market share of all aircraft units over 100 seats. These include 472 A320 Family aircraft, 138 Long-Range aircraft (A330/A340) and nine A380s. The recently launched A350 XWB won 163 new firm orders increasing the total to 478 from 29 customers, making it the fastest selling aircraft in aviation history. At 2008 year end, Airbus had increased its backlog to a new record of 3,715 aircraft. These figures underline the continuing strong demand for Airbus products. 

Airbus’ turn-around programme, Power 8 again exceeded targets for the second year in a row, delivering cost savings of about 1.3 billion Euros. The savings are over half way towards the 2010 objective and Power 8+ will add a further 650 million euros in savings by 2012.

In 2008 Airbus has also successfully completed its aerostructures strategy. The former Airbus site in Laupheim and Filton’s manufacturing unit were sold to leading partners. The German sites Nordenham, Varel and Augsburg were merged into Premium Aerotec and the French sites Meaulte and St. Nazaire Ville into Aerolia. The two companies became fully operational on January 1st, 2009. They are well positioned to become major players on the global market. These divestments and restructuring allow Airbus to concentrate on its core activities of aircraft architect and integrator, while capital investments, risks and benefits in developing new aircraft technologies are shared.

“We all know that 2009 will be a very challenging year for the aeronautics industry. At Airbus we are prepared and confident: our leadership team is aligned, our workforce is motivated again, integration is progressing well and we have a solid financial basis, thanks to our improvement programs, our prudent cash and production management, and our strong orderbook,” said Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO.

Source: Airbus