Airbus to miss A320neo delivery target because of engine woes: sources

New Delhi

AIRBUS will miss its delivery target for Pratt & Whitney-powered A320neo narrow-body jets this year, after problems with the engines caused an almost three-month halt in shipments, people familiar with the matter said.

The Toulouse, France-based planemaker expects to deliver 30 to 40 fewer of the aircraft than previously anticipated, according to one of the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a confidential matter.

Airbus had planned to hand over about 210 of the Pratt-powered jets - one of two engine options for the A320neo - during the rest of this year. It could get closer to that target if Pratt, a unit of United Technologies Corp, can accelerate engine production beyond current levels.

The delays on Airbus's hottest selling model - a workhorse for airlines worldwide - threaten to expose the planemaker and Pratt to late penalties from frustrated customers. The tardiness will also pressure Airbus's effort to ramp up production generally, reducing room for manoeuvring in its schedule. The company had planned to use this year to catch up from other delivery delays from 2017, a goal that is now out of reach.

Airbus had said in early June that it expected higher costs to manage delivery of scores of aircraft that were parked without engines after the latest issue with a knife-edge seal on the high-tech engine, one of several in a new generation of fuel-saving power plants that have suffered through persistent teething pains.

At the time, commercial aircraft chief Guillaume Faury called the situation "challenging", but said that "if the engine manufacturers stick to their plans, we will stick to ours or very close".

Airbus can still reach its overall production target for shipping 800 planes of all its models this year, it said in a statement, declining to comment on specifics of the A320 programme. Airbus is due to publish monthly order and delivery totals for June this week.

"At the end of the day or year, what matters is achieving the guidance, to have delivered around 800 aircraft and the corresponding, incoming cash linked to those deliveries," the company said in an e-mail. BLOOMBERG