Excuse the pun as business is flying for both Airbus and Boeing so much so this has created a whole new problem. The problem is not securing orders for their air craft, but more a building and delivery time problem.
The 16 683 backlog is a big problem and not necessary a good problem to have considering this equates to around 12 years in build and delivery times. The biggest fear is if Airbus and Boeing do not speed up their manufacturing and delivery process is a fair chunk of these orders could be cancelled.
Over a 12 year period you would like to think there will be newer more fuel efficient models that will be launched which will have airlines cancelling their order books and reordering the newer models. The numbers may not change that much, but who the airlines order their new planes could. This is and always will be a Boeing vs Airbus war over who can maintain the highest market share.
The 16 800 outstanding orderbook is in Airbus's favor with a 60 40 split with Boeing. This could be the reason why Boeing has been squealing this week asking the US Government to intervene and double check the latest loan agreement of €3 billion ($3.43 billion) provided by the European Investment Bank. Tensions are always on edge between these two companies with a 10 year truce dating back to June 16 2016 stating that there can be no unfair advantages gained via government subsidies. At one stage the EU and the US had increased trade tariffs imposed on each others aircraft and Boeing is not happy with the €3 billion Airbus loan deal. The EIB has stated there is no favorable loan rates and is business as normal.
I would suggest this loan is going to be used to help speed up production or even open a new assembly plant because at the current time they have a bottleneck problem. The monthly delivery numbers need to rise for both companies or the risk of lost orders is very high. Last year in the first quarter cancellations were at 70 compared to this year for the same period at 44. The numbers have dropped, but this still represents lost sales and is two weeks work.
After we had the Covid lockdowns the airlines opted for the narrow body planes and this year the trend has changed with more wide body orders which tells us the airline industry is back to normal.
Both Airbus and Boeing have faced supply chain issues with Airbus struggling with engine supply from Pratt and Whitney. Boeing have been running at a loss for the first quarter due to delays with wiring issues. All this means is the longer the manufacturers take with their backlogs the less profit is being made as aero plane costs rise on a price already negotiated.
What the backlog means for the airlines is they either cancel and reorder newer models which they will do but also manage their current fleet for longer than expected. This is not ideal as having the latest most fuel efficient planes is the business model they have to use in order to maintain profits and remain competitive.