Airbus SE is on track to deliver its 600-jet delivery target for 2021. The hold-ups of the wide-bodied A350 jet have complicated the situation, according to people who are informed in this matter
As per Bloomberg News, around half of 82 jets have been delivered by mid-December. The European planemaker needs to complete the full delivery by the year-end to meet its full-year target.
The delivery push has been hindered by snags developed by the twin-aisle A350 jets that were not accepted by certain airlines. China-bound planes were put on hold, and they may be shipped in the coming days. Russia’s Aeroflot PJSC postponed taking two jets as insufficient traffic levels, and Ethiopian Airlines will take two aircraft in December under a revised delivery plan.
Airbus is facing a situation in which it is a typical annual scramble to push build rates to meet the target metrics. This year, however, was challenging as suppliers struggled to lift the production parts from factories that struggled during the coronavirus crisis. Many airlines’ customers have pushed back from taking the jets’ deliveries to preserve the cash while waiting for long-haul travel demand.
A spokesperson of the Toulouse, France-based Airbus said that the deliveries are not linear and the year is not over yet while it declined to comment on the company’s manufacturing planning and customer delivery dates.
Doug Harned, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein, said that the Airbus production and handover rates suggested that the company had around 150 jets ready at the end of November, more the 50% as indicated by Airbus earlier. This might include some planes missing out due to a supply chain crunch and will be delivered later once it is complete. There is also a significant reluctance on certain airlines to boost their fleet capacity amid coronavirus, which is continuing.
Russia’s Aeroflot has postponed taking the A350s handover by two to three months because of lack of demand, while Ethiopian Airlines will take delivery of the planes in renegotiated plans with Airbus. Authorities in China could be contacted for their comments.
