Airbus has shifted the entry into service date for the A350 freighter into 2026, but is more broadly maintaining its industrial targets for other programmes.
The airframer, which has disclosed first-quarter results, says the industrial planning for the freighter is being “slightly adjusted” as its initial milestones are reached.
Chief executive Guillaume Faury, speaking during the results briefing, said the slip was a matter of a “few months” from the previous end-2025 timeframe.
But he insists it does not amount to a “re-baselining” of the schedule, and states that the shift relates to overall programme execution. Airbus recently produced the first components for the freighter at its Airbus Atlantic plant in Nantes.
“We’re not specifically putting it on the shoulders of one or other supplier,” he stresses.
The airframer is still expecting service entry for the A321XLR, its long-range single-aisle project, to take place in the second quarter of 2024.
Airbus is ramping-up production of A320neo-family jets and intends to reach a monthly rate of 65 aircraft by the end of next year.
It is adding a second A320neo final assembly line at its Chinese plant in Tianjin, which will give the company 10 in all, and support a further ramp-up to 75 aircraft per month in 2026.
Airbus is also progressing towards monthly production rates of 14 aircraft on the A220 by mid-decade, as well as four for the A330 next year and nine for the A350 by the end of 2025.
Commercial aircraft revenues declined by 5% over the quarter, to €8.1 billion, reflecting lower deliveries of 127 aircraft. Adjusted EBIT nearly halved to €580 million.
“We continue to face an adverse operating environment that includes in particular persistent tensions in the supply chain,” says Faury.
But while commercial aircraft deliveries – forecast at 720 – will be backloaded, he says the guidance for this year is “unchanged”.
