Airbus aims for its second A320neo final assembly line in Mobile to be operating in the third quarter of this year and is sticking to a goal of producing 14 A220s monthly by 2026 despite stubborn supply constraints.
The company is “getting the third line ramped up” and expects it will “be ready in the… third quarter of this year”, Robin Hayes, chief executive of Airbus in America told FlightGlobal on 8 April.
Airbus opened its Mobile facility with a single A320 assembly line ten years ago and opened an A220 line in Mobile in 2020, supplementing A220 production in Mirabel, Canada.
In 2022, the company revealed plans to construct a second A320neo-family line in Mobile, at the time aiming to have that line operating in the second quarter of 2025.
Hayes, speaking at the MRO Americas conference in Atlanta, also said Airbus still aims to reach a goal of producing, at its Mirabel and Mobile sites, a combined 14 A220s in 2026.
“We are on course for…getting up to that rate,” he says.
But Airbus has a long way to go. It delivered just 17 A220s in the first three months of 2025 and only 75 of the jets in 2024.
The manufacturer has been working to hike production amid a steady stream of supply chain difficulties that arose during the Covid-19 pandemic and that continue to hinder output.
The company delivered 766 aircraft in 2024, after having early in 2024 aimed to deliver 800 jets that year. For 2025, it is targeting 820 deliveries.
“Right now, we feel we can achieve that,” Hayes says.
He adds that Airbus’ production is not being held up by shortages of Pratt & Whitney PW1100G or PW1500G geared turbofans (GTFs). PW1100Gs are one of two A320neo-family engine options, the other being CFM International Leap-1As. PW1500Gs power A220s.
P&W has been working through an incredibly disruptive recall of those engines due to a problem involving potentially defective metallic components. The engine maker has diverted substantial resources to recall-related maintenance and to producing replacement components for recalled engines.
“From an Airbus point of view, Pratt has continued to deliver engines on time,” Hayes says. “They are not an inhibitor to our production ramp.”
Asked what components are creating the most trouble, Hayes cites “cabin monuments” and other “buyer-furnished equipment”, which are products bought by airlines and installed by Airbus.
Boeing’s chief executive Kelly Ortberg has also called out cabin monuments as causing delivery delays.
