Airbus Has An Aircraft Problem

Airbus has a problem with its aircraft, as the number of jets awaiting engines before delivery is growing.

The planemaker’s CEO, Guillaume Faury, during the half-yearly briefing, discussed the current outlook for its commercial aircraft programs.

One of the biggest takeaways was the challenge in delivering new airframes to airlines who are awaiting these planes, and often receiving them already with hefty delays.

Airbus says that the number of aircraft that are technically completed but awaiting their engines is growing, leaving these planes grounded at facilities.

The manufacturer said that the number of planes also awaiting these engines has risen to some 60 units, which is quite a large figure and stems from Pratt & Whitney, who are going through their engine crisis, but is not limited to them, with CFM International also being included in the past.

The inability to put new engines on new aircraft means that Airbus’ deliveries, among other reasons, have not met the yearly delivery targets that have been set.

Airbus hopes to achieve 820 commercial aircraft deliveries this year, which represents yet another increase from the figures in previous years, which the planemaker was also unable to reach due to the ongoing complicated operating climate.

Requiring an almighty push for the remainder of 2025, Airbus will be up against it if it wishes to reach the 820 figure, thus far even seeing its gap with Boeing reduce, bringing the two competitors closer, with the latter still seeing production restrictions imposed on its most important MAX program.

Despite this, and the many advertisements facing the planemaker, they still have internal confidence they’ll be able to reach 820 commercial aeroplane deliveries, aided by strengthening relationships with engine manufacturers.

How Do Airlines Feel About The Airbus Problem?

Each airline’s reaction to these engine challenges has been different; this largely depends on how much each airline relies on Airbus to power its fleet.

For some, the continued delayed delivery of new commercial aircraft has hampered not just growth efforts but also seen renewal take a massive hit, as the transition towards newer planes cannot occur at the intended pace.

While these carriers would be grateful they still have capacity in older aircraft, the adverse effect of the longer this is drawn out starts to take shape on a more profound level.

This is why across the industry, more airlines have begun seeking compensation from planemakers in the last 18 months for the delayed delivery of aircraft, helping to alleviate the financial ramifications from the fleet struggles.

Whether it has been Wizz Air with grounded A321neo jets, delayed aircraft or over at Spirit Airlines, even JetBlue, the continued engine crisis has rampaged through the industry, affecting airlines of all sizes and geographical positioning.

How airlines have combated the lack of available aircraft has also varied, turning to the leasing market for short-term fixes, slowed down growth such as at United Airlines or in a worst-case scenario, simply taken the financial hit the delays have caused.

Delta Stripping New Aircraft

Delta has been responding to the ongoing engine shortage struggles at Airbus in a manner different from other airlines, and certainly more extreme.

Reporting in mid-July, shared by Bloomberg, revealed the airline was cannibalising its undelivered Airbus aircraft, stripping available aircraft of engines and shipping them to the United States.

These working engines are then transported to the United States, where once they are formally in Delta’s hands, they are applied to aircraft that have already been delivered but have been grounded because of the Pratt & Whitney engine saga.

For Delta, they’re prioritising their existing aircraft, as the situation is rather a lose/lose with either existing aircraft remaining grounded or the delivery of new planes being impacted because of the lack of available engines.