Airbus exceeds target of 600 jet deliveries in 2021, sources say

PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus provisionally exceeded its target of 600 jet deliveries in 2021, with final totals depending on a still incomplete audit, industry sources said on Monday.

Deliveries of aircraft went down to the wire, with several handovers completed on Dec 31, according to specialist website Hamburg Finkenwerder News and flight-tracking data.

Airbus declined to comment.

Deliveries included a flurry of last-minute activity for A350 wide-bodied jets, for which demand has been slack as international travel remains dogged by the coronavirus crisis.

That brought December's tally for the long-haul jets to about a dozen, though almost half of those have yet to enter operational service, according to Flightradar24 tracking data.

Airbus deliveries frequently surge in the final month of the year, but supply chain problems have hampered deliveries of some medium-haul jets while the spread of Omicron has raised fresh doubts over the likelihood of an early rebound in long-haul travel.

Airbus raised the for jet deliveries to 600 from a previous target of at least 566 in July after posting better than expected half-year results.

Bloomberg News reported on Dec. 22 that Airbus was on track to meet its annual delivery goal.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Jason Neely and David Goodman)