Airbus highlights interest in A330neo during Farnborough show

Airbus demonstrated demand for its A330neo during the Farnborough air show, as the backlog for the twinjet shows signs of an uptick after five years of trending downwards. Orders for the re-engined aircraft reached 337 at the end of 2019, as strong activity and a delivery ramp-up followed the initial handover to Portugal’s TAP the year before. But the backlog – which stood at 293 five years ago – declined to 175 by the close of 2023, as the Covid-19 pandemic caused havoc in the long-haul market. Over the three years from 2020-22 the airframer’s orders for 42 A330neos were wiped out by 91 cancellations. These cancellations included more than 60 from AirAsia – a carrier which had strongly backed development of the aircraft. Production rates for the A330 line dropped to just two aircraft per month as the pandemic set in, halting the A330neo’s ramp-up momentum. Airbus also recorded 28 A330neo cancellations from Iran Air last year, as an order which was placed in 2016 – but subsequently overtaken by political events – was removed from its books.<br/>