Airbus CEO optimistic of reaching delivery target this year

Airbus SE Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury said he’s optimistic the European planemaker can achieve its aircraft delivery goal for this year, after cutting the target a few months ago because of continuing supply constraints. 

While reaching the goal will be a “big challenge,” Faury said he’s “quite confident” the company can make the target of 770 aircraft handovers. Airbus previously had earmarked 800 deliveries for 2024.

The vast majority of suppliers are supporting Airbus’s ramp-up plans, though a small number continue to struggle and the manufacturer is focused on helping them, the CEO said at an aviation summit in Washington organized by the US Chamber of Commerce.

Airbus lowered its annual target in late June, alongside several other goals, blaming persistent supply snags that have bedeviled the industry since the pandemic. Faury said on Tuesday that procurement of raw materials, as well as logistics and recruitment, remain challenges that the Toulouse, France-based company needs to address. 

Through August, Airbus had delivered 447 aircraft toward its annual goal, the planemaker said last week. The company typically accelerates deliveries in the final months of the year. 

The shares have fallen 6.8% this year, while rival Boeing Co. has declined 39%.