Airbus struggling to raise A350 output this year, sources say (updated)

Spirit Aerosystems Holdings

17/02/2025 16:16

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      Airbus may not raise output above 6/month this year,
sources say
    

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      Airbus still hopes to reach 2028 goal of 12/month
    

  
 (Adds details, context from paragraph 5)
    By Tim Hepher
       PARIS, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Airbus  AIR.PA  is struggling
to increase output of its A350 jetliner as it faces ongoing
delays in the arrival of fuselage parts from Spirit AeroSystems
 SPR.N , industry sources said.
    The delays have cast doubt on Airbus' ability to increase
production above current rates of around six jets a month for at
least the rest of this year, though it still hopes to reach its
published target of 12 a month during 2028, they added.
    A spokesperson for Airbus declined comment but referred back
to comments given with its nine-month results in October, when
Airbus upheld the 2028 target but said it was "actively managing
specific supply chain challenges" that may affect 2025 output.
    Spirit AeroSystems declined comment.
    Reuters reported in October that supplies to Airbus of key
parts including a fuselage section from a Spirit plant at
Kinston, North Carolina, were running behind schedule and Airbus
later confirmed concerns over the pace of the ramp-up in 2025.
    Now, it looks increasingly doubtful whether any significant
increase in output of the long-haul A350 model will be possible
at all in 2025 and possibly part of 2026, the sources said.
    Spirit mainly supplies Boeing, which is in the process of
buying back its former subsidiary, with Airbus taking control of
the Kinston plant and a Belfast facility that supplies its A220.
    Airbus halved A350 output to five a month during the
pandemic and partially restored it to six a month in 2023, since
when it has struggled to stay above that level, sources said.
    In January this year, Airbus delivered two A350s.
    The European group announces annual results on Thursday.

 (Reporting by Tim Hepher
Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
 ((tim.hepher@thomsonreuters.com; +33 1 49 49 54 52; Reuters
Messaging: tim.hepher.thomsonreuters@reuters.net))