Snapshot of Airbus jet use shows China propping up fragile recovery

A snapshot of Airbus plane use outlines a tentative recovery still dependent on China, and continued challenges for wide-body aircraft as carriers adjust to a lack of demand. Of the 10,404 Airbus planes in global fleets, almost two-thirds had flown at least once in the previous five days, according to an Aug. 24 newsletter sent by the European manufacturer to operators and maintenance companies. The rest -- more than 3,600 planes -- had not flown, a reminder of the oversupply that Airbus and Boeing are grappling with six months into the coronavirus pandemic. The numbers help to fill in the contours of a lopsided recovery that’s seen Chinese travel bounce back while the rest of the world flounders. And even as other sectors of the global economy are looking up, air travel remains mired in a downturn that’s proving tough to shake. Leave out China, and more than 40% of Airbus’s global fleet is grounded, based on the figures in the newsletter, which didn’t include its smallest jet, the A220. China represents nearly a quarter of the Toulouse, France-based manufacturer’s commercial aircraft production. “It is very important for Airbus and Boeing to steer deliveries toward China in this particularly weak year,” said George Ferguson, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst. Demand could improve in 2021, “but right now it looks like even the first half will see parked fleet in most regions.”<br/>