Airbus stays on course to meet aircraft delivery target amid supply chain strain

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Airbus aircraft delivery 2023

Highlights

Airbus confirms it is on track to deliver approximately 870 aircraft in 2023, despite ongoing supply chain issues and key supplier delays.
Airbus aims to increase A320 production to 70–75 planes per month by end-2027 and boost A350 output beyond 12 units per month before 2028.
Strong airline demand keeps the A320 family sold out for eight years, while Airbus forecasts industry needs an extra 2.44 million workers over the next 20 years.

Delivery outlook and production plans

As reported by Financial Times, Airbus says it is on track to meet its goal of delivering around 870 aircraft by the end of the year, even as supply chain constraints continue to weigh on output. Lars Wagner, chief executive of Airbus's commercial aircraft division, tells reporters in Toulouse that he is confident the group has everything in place to make the target a reality.

Airbus delivers 547 commercial aircraft in the year to the end of September, leaving more than 320 jets to be handed over in the final three months of the year. The company says its two main remaining challenges are delays from U.S. engine maker Pratt & Whitney for A320 jets and quality issues affecting cabin seats.

Wagner also backs Airbus's planned production increases. The group says it remains on track to produce 70 to 75 A320 aircraft a month by the end of 2027, while it also wants to lift output of long-haul wide-body aircraft, particularly the A350, beyond its current target of 12 a month by 2028.

Airbus continues to study a larger A350-2000 variant that would compete directly with Boeing's delayed 777X, and it is also examining a stretched version of the A220. Wagner says there is clear demand for both aircraft and adds that decisions on raising monthly A350 output would come sooner rather than later, well before 2030, because such a move would require a new final assembly line.

Market demand and longer-term industry needs

Strong airline demand continues to support Airbus's expansion plans despite recent operational setbacks. Its best-selling A320 narrow-body family is sold out for the next eight years, even after production defects and supply chain bottlenecks over the past two years, while A330 deliveries slow over the summer after a quality lapse is identified in June in some in-production aircraft.

The company is also pressing ahead with plans for a successor to the A320, which Wagner describes as a potential game changer. Airbus says it will decide by the end of the decade whether to launch the new programme, as aircraft and engine makers work on designs that consume significantly less fuel and help the industry pursue its net zero target while continuing to grow.

Separately, Airbus forecasts that the aviation industry will need to hire an additional 2.44 million workers over the next two decades, including more than 1 million cabin crew, to support projected expansion. The outlook also underlines Airbus's push to capture a larger share of the commercial aircraft services market, which is becoming increasingly lucrative.

Our earlier report on Airbus’s aviation workforce forecast highlighted the scale of hiring needed over the next 20 years, including major demand for cabin crew, pilots, and maintenance specialists as fleets grow and become more complex. It also noted Airbus’s expectation that the post-delivery services market will expand sharply, with digital services and off-wing maintenance becoming key revenue and capacity pressure points for the industry.

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