Airbus is aiming to deliver 870 commercial aircraft this year but has cut back its A320neo-family ramp-up forecast after failing to secure commitments from Pratt & Whitney on required engine deliveries.
The airframer says it expects to reach a monthly rate of 70-75 A320neo-family aircraft by the end of 2027 – a less-ambitious level than the 75 per month at which it had previously been aiming.
It is looking to stabilise the monthly build rate at 75 aircraft “thereafter”, without giving a specific timeline.
Airbus says that Pratt & Whitney’s inability to commit to the number of engines ordered is “negatively impacting” the ramp-up trajectory.
Chief executive Guillaume Faury says, in a full-year briefing, that the airframer is “managing” the production ramp-up ”while facing significant Pratt & Whitney engine shortages”.
Former Airbus commercial aircraft chief Christian Scherer had stated in January that talks with the engine manufacturer on required volumes had still to be concluded.
Faury says the situation with Pratt & Whitney, which produces the PW1100G for the A320neo, is “really disappointing”. He adds that the airframer will have to “bite the bullet” for 2026 but insists that the engine firm must “significantly step up” deliveries in 2027.
FlightGlobal has sought comment from Pratt & Whitney.
Faury indicates that no other bottlenecks are affecting the A320neo-family ramp-up. “That’s not limited by other supply issues, where we have a ramp-up trajectory that is well-supported,” he says.
The airframer is also limiting its expectations for A220 monthly production rates to 13 aircraft in 2028.
It had already rolled back the ramp-up on the twinjet type – which is exclusively powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1500G engines – to around 12 per month this year, rather than 14.
Airbus says the A220 ramp-up is paced by the balance between supply and demand, as well as the integration of work packages from newly-acquired divisions of Spirit AeroSystems.
The A220 had a backlog of 464 aircraft at the end of January.
Airbus’s latest revision means the 14-per-month target for the A220 remains two or three years away.
But the company is maintaining monthly rate forecasts of 12 for the A350 programme in 2028 and five for the A330 in 2029.
