PARIS (Reuters) – Airbus delivered 50 airplanes in May, bringing its total so far this year to 220 jets, up 38% from the same period last year, the European planemaker said on Monday.
Deliveries included the first A380 superjumbo to Dubai’s Emirates since December last year, leaving four more to deliver before the world’s largest airliner ends its production and cabin-fitting run in the wake of weaker than expected sales.
Airbus also confirmed an order of five A350 wide-bodied jets from Germany’s Lufthansa, announced by the airline last month.
But Airbus data released on Monday showed that the German airline had also simultaneously cancelled three previous A350 orders, resulting in a net addition of two A350 jets. An Airbus spokesman confirmed the mixture of cancellations and orders.
The order reshuffle was part of a fleet restructuring that also saw Lufthansa buy five more competing Boeing 787-9 jets that had been left without buyers after they were manufactured.
Boeing has been wrestling with 787 production difficulties, while both planemakers face a slump in demand for wide-bodied long-haul jets exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
