Ongoing shortages of engines, cabin components and other parts have left Airbus challenged to hit its 2024 delivery goal, meaning the company needs to quickly ramp output to hit the target.
That is according to Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury who, on 10 September, said the manufacturer faces “a big challenge for the last four months of the year”.
Airbus in June had reset its 2024 delivery target to 770 aircraft – an average of 64 jets monthly – down from a previous goal of 800.
Over the eight months through August, it had handed over 447 aircraft, meaning Airbus needs to deliver another 323 aircraft – 81 monthly, on average – during the last four months of the year.
Faury, who spoke during the US Chamber of Commerce’s Global Aerospace Summit, made clear that many of the European airframer’s suppliers are performing well and delivering components on time.
But others are lagging, struggling to overcome pandemic-induced problems that include labour shortages.
“The very vast majority of suppliers are on the right trajectory that we have defined,” Faury says. “We are willing to manage those few suppliers that have big difficulties in delivering on time and that are slowing us down.”
He cites engine makers and suppliers of landing-gear, seats and other interior components as the primary source of bottlenecks.
“That’s basically what is holding us back at the moment,” Faury says.
July had been a solid performance month for the company; it delivered 77 jets in the period, but deliveries slowed to 47 aircraft during the normal holiday month of August.
Both CFM International and Pratt & Whitney, makers of the A320neo-family’s two engine options, have struggled to hike output in the face of lingering labour and supply chain troubles.
P&W is also saddled with an ongoing recall of its geared turbofan engines, including PW1100Gs, which power A320neos. The recall stems from manufacturing problems that left powerplants with potentially defective components. Hundreds of PW1100G-powered Airbus jets are grounded as a result, driving up demand for spare engines and limiting supply of the turbofans for new-production Airbus jets.
“We have accepted to significantly reduce the number of engines that would go to Airbus, to give better support to the [in-service] fleet,” Faury says. “Pratt is really at a…difficult place, in a difficult time, in their history. But they are doing what they said they would do.”
Longer term, Airbus plans to raise A320neo production to 75 aircraft monthly in 2027, revised earlier this year from 2026.
