26 | Flight International | 5-11 June 2018 flightglobal.com

DATA VIEW

Net bookings for 99 new commercial aircraft were recorded in April, with re-engined

models and the 787 faring well. Shipments to 71 operators marked a dip from March

Narrowbodies

keep on climbing

GRAHAM DUNN & ANTOINE FAFARD
LONDON

Airbus

SAS is to boost its A320neo

fleet with a further 35 examples

New orders, April 2018

SAS A320neo 35

American Airlines 787-9 25

Boeing Capital 787-8 22

Ethiopian Airlines Q400 10

Allegiant Air A320 1

Druk Air A320neo 1

New Central Airservice RUAG Dornier 228 1

SAS A330-300 1

Uzbekistan Airways 787-8 1

Source: Flight Fleets Analyzer

Note: Information for known customers only

Number of months without new

orders for regional jet products

3

C

ommercial activity in April includ-
ed orders for 127 aircraft, initial data
from Flight Fleets Analyzer shows.
With 28 cancellations during the
month and a further 34 units swapped, this re-
sulted in net bookings for 99 new aircraft.
The largest commitment came from Ameri-
can Airlines, which formally dropped a long-
standing order – originally placed by US Air-
ways – for 22 Airbus A350s. It will instead take
47 Boeing 787s, split between 25 directly or-
dered -9s and 22 -8s leased via Boeing Capital.
Scandinavian airline SAS placed an order
for 35 A320neos. No engine selection has been
announced, but the Star Alliance carrier’s cur-
rent examples of the re-engined twinjet are
powered by CFM International’s Leap-1A.
For narrowbodies, Airbus took in orders for
a further 23 A320neos, along with eight A320-
family aircraft heading for as-yet unannounced
customers. US carrier Allegiant Air and Bhu-
tan’s Druk Air also will take a single unit each.
Russia’s Utair swapped a commitment for
30 737NGs in favour of the re-engined Max.
These net orders for 62 narrowbodies in
April compared with just 15 recorded in the
same period a year earlier, but were down
sharply from the 159 booked in March 2018.

In addition to American’s switch to the

787, the remaining widebody orders in April

were for a single 787-8 by Uzbekistan Air-

ways and an SAS commitment for one A330.

For turboprops, Ethiopian Airlines ordered

10 Bombardier Q400s, and RUAG sold a single

Dornier 228 to Japan’s New Central Airservice.

Continuing a barren spell spanning an entire

quarter, no new regional jets were ordered.

Fleets Analyzer shows that at the end of

April, the overall commercial order backlog

stood at 15,169: down by 17 from the previous

month. Our data records 12,975 units from this

total – 86% – as to be produced by Airbus and

Boeing, and business with Bombardier, Comac

and Embraer totalling 1,342 aircraft.

In terms of April deliveries, Fleets Analyzer

records 116 commercial aircraft being handed

over to 71 operators. This was 2% less than dur-

ing the same month a year earlier, but marked

the second-busiest period so far for shipments

in 2018, after the 174 transferred in March.

Carriers in Europe took a combined total of

41 units, while operators in the Asia-Pacific

region took 33 and those in North America, 25.

Seventy narrowbodies were delivered, with

notable recipients including Delta Air Lines –

with three A321s and two 737-900s – and Ry-

anair, with five 737-800s. Aeroflot, Southwest

Airlines and Wizz Air each accepted four units.

Widebody shipments totalled 25 units, in-

cluding two A350s and a single A380 for Qatar

Airways. China Southern Airlines took a sin-

gle A330 and one 787, while Singapore Air-

lines received one each of the A380 and 787.

Seventeen regional jet deliveries included

Embraer’s first E2-series aircraft: an E190-E2

for Norwegian carrier Widerøe. Russia’s Yamal

Airlines and Azimuth took four and two Suk-

hoi Superjet 100s, respectively, while Horizon

Air, Japanese operator J-Air and SkyWest Air-

lines each received E-Jets. Four turboprops

were also handed over.

Fleets Analyzer shows that the global com-

mercial fleet totalled 28,854 aircraft at the end of

April: a month-on-month rise of 151. ■