European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has reportedly started to get in touch with various airline customers to tell them that they may have to wait even longer for new aircraft to be delivered due to continuing supply chain ‘constraints’.
Sources told Reuters on Friday that Airbus is pushing back some deliveries slated for late 2024 and early 2025 by at least several months, causing a potential headache for airlines that are eager to get their hands on more aircraft in order to build back lost capacity.
Airbus has refused to confirm the reports, but the Toulouse-based aerospace giant complained last month of a ‘complex operating environment’, including supply chain constraints for engines and other aircraft components.
At the end of 2023, Airbus’ backlog of aircraft on order stood at 8,598. During the 12 months to December 2023, the manufacturer delivered 735 aircraft to 87 airline customers.
Persistent supplier issues have been compounded by the airline industry’s eagerness to get its hands on new aircraft with the recovery in new widebody jet orders recovering much faster following the pandemic than Airbus had originally anticipated.
