Last checked at 
(Adds details of changes to Airbus order book, analyst comment)
PARIS, July 8 (Reuters) - Airbus delivered 297
airplanes in the first half of the year after a surge of
handover activity in June, the European planemaker said on
Thursday.
Deliveries, which have been recovering from a
pandemic-related slump, rose 52% in the first six months from
196 at the mid-way point of 2020, and compare with a total of
389 in the first half of 2019 before the health crisis crippled
air travel.
The world's largest planemaker ahead of U.S. rival Boeing
also said it had won 165 gross orders in the first half,
dropping to a net total of 38 orders after cancellations.
Thursday's monthly update confirmed a strong pickup in June
after Reuters reported earlier this week that Airbus had
delivered more than 70 airplanes that month to leave first-half
deliveries in touching distance of the 300 mark.
The deliveries put Airbus on course to meet a 2021 goal of
at least matching last year's deliveries, analysts said.
"In terms of overall deliveries, Airbus looks to be
comfortably on track to at least match guidance of around the
566 aircraft (reported) in 2020, and likely come in closer to
600," Agency Partners analysts Sash Tusa said in a note.
In an unusual move, an order for five A350 jets previously
attributed to IAG unit Aer Lingus was removed from the
order column for that airline and appeared to have been placed
in a column for airlines whose names have not been disclosed.
One industry source said such a move could create
flexibility to adjust part of the order, though Airbus monthly
data showed that the order has not so far been cancelled.
IAG, which had previously transferred A350 orders from the
Irish carrier to other parts of the European airlines group, was
not immediately available for comment. Airbus declined comment.
Separately, Macquarie Airfinance, a unit of Australia’s
Macquarie Group, which has been gradually reducing orders for
the A220 jet, cancelled another two of the aircraft in June.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher, Editing by GV De Clercq and Diane
Craft)
