Airbus said Friday it delivered 566 commercial airplanes in 2020, down 34% from the previous year due to the heavy impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on air travel.
Yet its business still far outstripped that of Boeing, which until year end couldn't deliver any 737 MAXs.
Through the end of November, Boeing had delivered only 118 commercial jets. On Tuesday, it will announce its December orders and the 2020 final tally, certain for the second year in a row to trail its great rival.
Airbus also announced net orders for 268 aircraft. Because of cancellations of the grounded MAX, Boeing at the end of November had a negative net order tally for the year: minus 1,048 jets.
Airbus won 64 new orders for its small A220 jet, formerly the CSeries, acquired for free from Bombardier and now built in Mobile, Ala., as well as Quebec, Canada.
The Airbus A320 family won 296 new orders including 37 A321XLR.
In the widebody segment, Airbus won 23 new orders including two A330s and 21 A350s.
After 115 cancellations by the end of 2020, Airbus' backlog stood at 7,184 aircraft.
