Airbus set to match 2008 deliveries

“We’re on track to repeat the 2008 delivery record of 483 planes in 2009,” said Tom Williams, Airbus’s vice president of programs at a briefing in Wales on October 28. He added that the A380 program was “not running as smoothly as we would like,” appearing to confirm earlier comments from CEO Louis Gallois that the airframer will not meet its goal of delivering 14 of the large airliners this year.

Despite the high level of output, orders are down significantly, with Airbus having only booked 149 gross orders during the first three quarters of the year. That places it well short of its target of 300 for the year, with few significant orders expected during the final quarter.