Article Posted on : - Jan 12, 2010

Soaring high: Airbus delivers 15 more aircraft worldwide in 2009 than the preceding year.

PARIS (BNS): Amidst global economic slowdown and tough market conditions, European aviation giant Airbus delivered a total of 498 passenger aircraft in 2009, 15 more than the preceding year, the company announced on Tuesday.

Of the total passenger airplanes it supplied to various countries worldwide, 402 belonged to the A320 family of commercial passenger aircraft, 86 A330/A340s and 10 A380s.

In the military aircraft segment, the company delivered a total of 16 light and medium transport aircraft out of an order for 19. The orders included one C-212, two CN-235s and 16 C-295s from seven countries.

The company has also bagged new orders for 310 aircraft worth $34.9 billion at list prices, it said.

The new orders include 228 A320 family of aircraft, 78 A330/A340/A350 XWB family aircraft, and four new orders for A380 – the largest passenger airplane in the globe.

By the end of 2009, the European company had a total order backlog of 3,488 aircraft, valued at $437.1 billion, it said.