Undelivered Jets with Airbus and Boeing

Airbus and Boeing are sitting on large fleets of undelivered commercial jets, reflecting the continued slow pace of aircraft delivery amid the aerospace industry’s most-severe downturn. On October 1, 2020, the companies held 622 jets that have completed first-flight, but have not been delivered. The figure is down slightly from July, when a FlightGlobal analysis tallied 628 undelivered Airbus and Boeing jets. Boeing’s 423-strong fleet of stockpiled 737 MAX significantly inflate the tally. Boeing stockpiled 737 MAX in 2019 when it continued producing the jets amid the regulatory grounding, which prohibited Boeing from delivering the aircraft. Excluding the Max, the airframers hold 199 produced-but-not-delivered commercial aircraft – a six fewer than at the end of July.

Airbus’ inventory stood at 144 aircraft on October 1, 2020, down from 166 at the end July 2020. Undelivered fleet of Airbus includes 10 A220s, 89 A320-family jets, 14 A330s, 26 A350s and five A380s. Boeing’s undelivered fleet on October 1, 2020 stood at 478 aircraft, up from 462 in July 2020. The jump largely reflects more undelivered 787s. Boeing held 44 of those jets on October 1, 2020, up from 31 several months ago. Additionally, manufacturers have said travel restrictions have hindered their ability to hand over new aircraft. In August 2020, Airbus delivered 39 jets and Boeing 13, according to the manufacturers’ most-recent figures.