Airbus has to deliver 205 jets in two months to reach 2022 goal
AIRBUS faces the challenge of delivering 205 jetliners in just two months to meet its full-year goal after handing over 60 aircraft in October.
The delivery tally, revealed on Tuesday (Nov 8), confirmed an earlier Bloomberg report and exceeded the September figure by five, falling only three short of the European planemaker’s best monthly performance this year, achieved in March.
All the same, Airbus faces a sprint to the line if it’s to reach a year-end goal for handovers downgraded from 720 jets in July amid parts and labour shortages at suppliers, and reiterated with third-quarter earnings on Oct 28.
Chief executive officer Guillaume Faury said last month that build rates were still being affected by the late arrival of components, leading to low production efficiency, and cautioned that manufacturing hangups could run into next year.
At the same time, the Toulouse, France-based firm is now receiving a steady supply of engines, allowing the number of completed but inoperable planes to be reduced as it seeks to ramp up output of the best-selling A320 single-aisle jet to 75 a month by 2025.
Airbus booked 177 sales in October after securing only 13 in September. British Airways owner IAG was the biggest contributor, ordering close to 60 A320neo-series planes, while Jet2, also based in the UK, signed for 35 and China’s Xiamen Airlines agreed to take 40. The month saw 14 cancellations.
US competitor Boeing, which also reported October numbers Tuesday, said it delivered 35 planes and sold 122. It had zero monthly cancellations for the first since July 2019. BLOOMBERG
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