Airbus faces mammoth delivery challenge to reach full-year goal

AIRBUS faces a huge challenge in reaching its target for full-year aircraft deliveries, a key metric for the European company, after November handovers fell well short of the level needed to attain the goal.

The world’s biggest planemaker shipped about 55 aircraft last month, based on data from aviation analytics firm Cirium, leaving it about 150 short of the full-year target of 700 deliveries with just weeks to go.

The Aibfamily.flights data analytics website, which tracks Airbus handovers, suggested that 58 planes were “delivered on contract” in November. The figures aren’t official and could still change, though they offer the strongest indication yet that Airbus will struggle to meet its 2022 target.

An Airbus spokesman declined to comment ahead of the release of audited monthly delivery data in the coming days. The Toulouse, France-based company is no stranger to a year-end rush, having shipped 138 planes in Dec 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic and its fallout disrupted production, up from 77 in November that year.

Airbus had originally targeted 720 deliveries for 2022, but scaled back its ambitions in July as it battled with shortages of parts and components, including engines. Chief executive officer Guillaume Faury cautioned this week that there’s unlikely to be any improvement in the supply-chain crisis until the middle of next as higher energy prices impact key produces.

In an interview with Bloomberg Television in mid-November, Faury acknowledged the challenge of reaching the 12-month target, while saying “we think we can get there.” At the same time, he softened the goal by saying that the guidance for deliveries was “around 700,” giving Airbus some additional wiggle room. BLOOMBERG