Airbus Updates No.4224

 

Airbus delays A321neo(XLR) induction to 3Q24

Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) has reportedly warned its customers that aircraft delivery delays will persist through at least early 2025, according to Reuters' sources. Aircraft due in late 2024 and early 2025 could be delivered a few months behind schedule.

While the carrier declined to comment, sources indicated that supply chain issues related to various parts have persisted. During an annual press conference, the manufacturer confirmed that the first A321-200NY(XLR) is now scheduled to enter into service in the third quarter of 2024, as opposed to the second quarter planned previously.

"We are finalising the [certification] documents, coming close to the certification. We need to close all of them, and there are thousands. So far, we have been planning the entry into service in Q2 2024, we have a slight delay, so it's shifting from Q2 to Q3 this year but we're very close to the entry into service and that's something we have also discussed with our customers, and for most of the aircraft, it doesn't change the delivery dates," Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said.

Airbus plans to deliver "a handful" of XLRs this year before ramping up production in 2025.

"We have as many bottlenecks as we have suppliers," he said, stressing that the specific nature of the bottlenecks depended on individual suppliers and their environment. "There is a lot of complexity, not a single bottleneck that is to be resolved. We're trying to find the right sweet spot between the very strong demand we have and the many, many bottlenecks on the supply side."

One of the complex issues is about engines. Although Faury stressed it was not the only one, he underlined that Airbus was "not happy" with the on-wing time of Pratt & Whitney PW1500G engines on the A220, but said that demand was proof that those issues had not dampened customers' appetites.

Airbus has grown its supply chain workforce by 150% over the last two years, Faury explained.

The current bottlenecks affect all aircraft families. While the A320neo Family comprises the majority of Airbus's deliveries and is thus bound to be affected, it is currently ramping up its A220 and A350 assembly rates much more rapidly, which thus creates pressure on these types.