Airbus Behind On A220 Production

Airbus is behind in producing its A220 series and is looking to implement measures amongst its workforce to cope.

The latest measures involve ensuring that employees complete mandatory overtime on weekends to catch up on production of the A220.

While the A220 has enjoyed significant success with customers and Airbus has successfully seen widespread adoption across the Americas, there are still problems.

The A220 is ultimately a jet losing money, and Airbus needs to stabilize the programme to ensure its long-term viability. Furthermore, delays mean that customers cannot acquire their aircraft on time.

Reuters reports that imposing mandatory overtime, which Airbus is seeking at its A220 factory in Montreal, Quebec, would help rectify production difficulties that have led to delays.

Discussions surrounding overtime follow March reports that production of the A220 could slow further after Airbus workers rejected a prospective wage increase and instead favoured a strike.

Following this, a third contract was rejected before workers approved a five-year deal at the beginning of May, ending lockout fears. Once this was approved, Airbus could move ahead with more stability.

1,300 employees working at the Montreal site saw production slip considerably during the first quarter of the 2024 calendar year. These production drop-offs came as employees sought better working conditions, including wages, and put greater pressure on Airbus.

Now, the European plane maker is playing catch-up and attempting to rectify the substantial delays that have been mounting. These delays leave the A220 programme one of the most impacted Airbus’ aircraft in the broad portfolio.

Ultimately, these delays don’t align with Airbus’ ambition to continue increasing production to meet demand. Thanks to these mounting pressures, airline delivery timeframes continue to slip.

Moreover, when considering the implications for airlines, the degree of the impact varies. Some airlines must draft in other jets on a short-term lease to cover delays. Meanwhile, others are retaining older, less efficient jets to mitigate capacity losses.

Unfortunately, the underlying theme is the financial implications for airline customers who cannot acquire the planes they need when they initially expected.