The aviation sector’s recovery continues, with July seeing the highest number of aircraft orders in a single month since 2014, with 526 single-aisle and five wide-body commercial aircraft ordered.
The strong order numbers, worth £5.5 billion to the UK economy, were driven by announcements made at Farnborough International Airshow, the UK’s largest tradeshow and the first major European Airshow to return since 2019. During the airshow week, 277 aircraft were ordered, and later in July, one East Asia country placed a large order which accounts for circa 80% of the July order book. The high order numbers are a significant indication of the continued global aviation sector recovery in market demand and confidence.
Manufacturers delivered 72 aircraft during the month, taking total deliveries this year to 585 aircraft as the global aerospace industry makes progress towards an ADS forecast of 997 commercial aircraft deliveries by the end of the year. While deliveries showed a slight 4% decline compared to the month of July 2021, this can be attributed to summer shutdowns, holidays, and altered working patterns following recent rate ramp-up announcements.
With year-to-date aircraft orders at their highest for the first seven months of the year since 2014, the backlog of aircraft orders remains above 13,000. The current backlog of 13,460 aircraft in July 2022 could be worth up to £209 billion to the UK aerospace industry.
UK flight departures and arrivals have levelled off at 15% down on pre-pandemic statistics, and these consistent and stable levels remain encouraging given reports of a challenging airport operating environment and some international travel restrictions remaining in place at this time.
The market continues to recover from the challenges of the last two years and ongoing supply chain disruption. There is opportunity for the global ambition of trans-Atlantic net zero flight to be spearheaded by the UK, accelerating sector recovery and net zero by 2050. Government and industry must work together to ensure the UK’s net zero services, technologies, and capabilities are fully realised.
Key figures:
• 1,259 aircraft orders placed so far this year is a 58% increase on the same period in 2021
• Single-aisle orders to date this year are 1,161, the most for this timeframe since 2014, and a 67% increase over this period in 2021. 526 orders for the month of July are a 2,405% increase over July 2021
• Single-aisle aircraft are recovering faster than widebody deliveries, with single-aisle deliveries 15.5% ahead of YTD July 2022, and widebodies still 12.5% behind
• 13,460 aircraft on order backlog is a 5% increase on July 2021 and represents several years of work
ADS is the UK trade organisation representing the aerospace, defence, security and space sectors, with more than 1,100 member businesses.
