Guillaume Faury, the CEO of Airbus, said that the company can meet its delivery goal for 2025 as long as engine makers keep sending parts. This is after the company met its internal goals for July and August.
He said that airframes waiting for powerplants are getting cleared, but the company still needs more engines and cabin equipment to keep up the pace.
Airbus says it will deliver about 820 commercial jets this year.
The company needs to average about 97 aircraft a month from September to December, based on 434 handovers through August.
Faury said this is possible if engine supplies get better.
According to official numbers, Airbus delivered 61 planes in August, bringing the total for the year so far to 434.
That keeps the goal alive, but the fourth quarter needs to go faster because that’s when deliveries are usually backloaded.
Engines are still the deciding factor
Faury said that Pratt & Whitney and CFM are still having problems, which means that some jets are still waiting for engines even though other parts of the supply chain are making progress.
More Read
He said that the number of finished planes without engines has gone up, but he also said that the industrial system still needs more engines to meet customer deadlines.
When asked if Airbus can reach the goal this year, Faury said, “The answer is yes.” He also said, “I’m really worried about the engines.”
His comments were made at an industry event in Washington, where suppliers are still dealing with labour and parts shortages that have lasted longer than expected.
What the numbers say
Airbus has already reached its summer goals, but the last four months are almost half of the annual plan.
The company needs to deliver almost 100 jets per month to meet its guidance after August’s 61 deliveries.
This level of intensity depends on engine makers meeting their own recovery schedules.
Airbus delivered 766 jets last year. The goal for 2025 is to deliver about 7% more jets.
The company repeated that guidance in its most recent results, saying that deliveries are backweighted as supply problems get better.
