Backlogs: Why You Have to Wait 10 Years to Get an Airbus Plane Right Now
By Armaan Dhawan
Imagine if you were an airline, ordering an Airbus plane today. Would you be able to work around the fact that you'll have to wait 10 years before getting your aircraft?
Airbus is on a massive backlog right now, primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic and tight supply chains. During the pandemic, Airbus and Boeing's capabilties to produce planes were brought down, and that has been exacerbated by the fact that supply chains are not in good shape right now. They just assemble all of the parts used to make a plane, and if those parts cannot get to them in time, they cannot make the plane in time.
The travel industry has massively recovered from the pandemic now, and many more people are traveling than airlines had planned for. Due to this, new orders are coming in every day for Airbus, and they can't pump out aircraft fast enough. Airbus is currently on a backlog of over 8,600 planes, which means that airlines who order now won't be getting their plane until 2030, at the absolute earliest.
This is the primary reason why Airbus isn't coming to take all of Boeing's business amidst all of their regulatory drama with the 737 Max-- they don't have the capability to do so. Airlines can either stay with Boeing, who are in hot water with multiple planes, or switch to Airbus, who will give them an 8-10 year timeline on the aircraft. Despite the long wait, though, Airbus' orders continue to pile up-- they have delivered more planes than Boeing in five straight years, and it isn't a close margin. Last year, Airbus had 2,094 orders and delivered 735 planes, while Boeing had 1,314 orders and delivered 528 aircraft.
However, it's not just Airbus. Boeing is also on backlog of around 5,660 planes due to the increased scrutiny they are facing from the FAA. This slows down the assembly line and is safer but slower. However, if airlines were to order a plane from Boeing right now, it would arrive much faster than an Airbus aircraft.
Image courtesy of Airbus