HANOI: Airbus celebrated the delivery of its 9,000 aircraft, with the milestone plane an Airbus A321 going to Vietnamese carrier VietJetAir.
“The delivery of our 9000th aircraft comes as we enjoy ongoing strong demand for aircraft across our product line,” John Leahy, Airbus’ Chief Operating Officer, says in a statement commemorating the occasion. “The range of aircraft we offer today is unrivalled, meeting every airline requirement from 100 to over 500 seats with maximum efficiency, uncompromised comfort and broad customer appeal.”
“We are especially pleased to be delivering today’s aircraft to VietJetAir, which is a rising star in the fast-growing Asian region,” Leahy adds. “With the A321, VietJetAir will be able to increase capacity on its most popular routes while benefiting from the lowest operating costs of any single aisle aircraft.”
Airbus delivered its first commercial passenger jet – an A300 – in 1974. Today, Airbus’ commercial passenger jet line-up includes the A320 family, the A330, the A380 and the new A350.
Several older aircraft models are no longer in production, but still fly for major global carriers. Among the most-notable is the four-engine A340. Airbus ended production of the jet in 2011, though the A340 still flies for major carriers in including Lufthansa, Thai Airways, Air France, Cathay Pacific, Virgin Atlantic, Swiss, China Eastern and others.
Airbus’ landmark 9,000th delivery comes just two years after it delivered its 8,000 aircraft, which came in August 2013. Airbus says it now delivers more than 600 aircraft a year today, a figure that Airbus says “is set to rise further as the demand grows.”
