Paris: Airbus posted record annual jet orders and confirmed an 11pc rise in deliveries, maintaining the top manufacturing spot against Boeing for a fifth year.

Airbus said it had won 2,319 gross orders and 2,094 net orders after cancellations as airlines scrambled to renew fleets in 2023. Confirming a media report, it said it delivered 735 airplanes in 2023, leaving its order backlog at 8,598 planes.

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said the planemaker, which analysts say made a slow start to the year as it wrestled with tight supply chains, had seen "increased flexibility and capability" in its industrial system.

Christian Scherer, who stepped up from the top sales job to become CEO in January of commercial aircraft, the core plane making business, said aviation had recovered faster than expected from the pandemic. Demand for wide-body jets was rebounding particularly sharply.

"Travel is back and there is serious momentum" he said in a statement.

-B