Reuters Airbus reported record annual jet orders and confirmed an 11 rise in 2023 deliveries on Thursday, maintaining the top manufacturing spot against rival Boeing for a fifth year.

As airlines scramble to renew fleets, Airbus said it had won 2,319 gross orders and 2,094 net orders after cancellations. Confirming a Reuters report, it said it delivered 735 airplanes, leaving its order backlog at 8,598.

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

He added that he was confident Airbus would meet a target of 75 A320neo family jets being assembled a month in 2026.

While orders have soared past prepandemic levels amid brisk travel demand, Faury said he did not think that Airbus would recapture its record 2019 delivery levels of some 870 planes as early as this year. It will give 2024 targets in February.

The situation in the supply chain is still tense. It39;s improving, it39;s getting better, but we are also flying higher as we continue to ramp up in 2024, Faury told a news conference.

Christian Scherer, who in January stepped up from the top sales job to become CEO of the core commercial aircraft business, said aviation had recovered faster than expected from the COVID19 pandemic, especially in large widebodies.

The responsibility is to live up to this commitment to deliver a backlog of 8,600 aircraft on time, on…