Airbus believes it could have reached its target of 15 A350 deliveries for 2015 had it not been hamstrung by cabin interior problems.
The airframer handed over 14 A350s during the course of the year.
Chief executive Fabrice Bregier, speaking during a briefing in Paris, said the manufacturer had been “trapped” by “some cabin elements” which prevented it from reaching the original target.
Seat supplier Zodiac has been a particular bottleneck for the programme.
Bregier says the airframer has been “extremely patient” with Zodiac, but insists that its management team, for considerable time, was “in denial” about its supply problems which, he adds, amounted to a “recipe for failure”.
Airbus de-selected the company from its A330neo programme but Bregier says there are no plans to switch seat supplier for the A350.
He says the problems at Zodiac are “not yet fixed” but that the company has “clear action plans” and that it can recover from its difficulties if they are put in place.
“We believe they can do better and have plans to do better,” says Bregier.
Zodiac has previously acknowledged that poor operational management led to production problems and late deliveries.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
