Airbus Says A350s Will Be Delayed

Airbus has issued a new warning that its popular flagship A350 product will face additional delays for customers later this decade.

In another setback for the A350 program, these delays show that complications with the jet haven’t yet eased and instead are expected to continue deep into this decade.

A widebody program, despite its strong recent order performance and a backlog that swells as more planes are sold than delivered, is still facing these delivery slippages, which is far from ideal.

A New Delay To Be Dealt With

The latest reporting cited by Reuters shows that Airbus has now notified several airlines expecting to take delivery of the Airbus A350 in the second half of this decade that deliveries will slip beyond previously planned dates.

As a consequence, and without the exact carrier’s having been publicly confirmed, it’s a move that aims to navigate persistent supply chain problems affecting output targets across passenger and freighter aircraft, not so much certification issues for the latter A350F or something else.

At the end of April, Airbus had booked over 1,500 firm orders for the A350, and with half of these still undelivered, the backlog is close to 1,000 jets. As this figure continues to grow, it becomes challenging for airlines that rely on these planes to renew their fleets, lower costs, and ultimately grow.

The Latest A350 Problem Revealed

In essence, the latest delay Airbus has confirmed to its customers is due to concerns about shipments from a U.S. parts factory it recently acquired, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

Those same sources said that the delays reflect an ongoing problem in securing fuel parts from the former Spirit AeroSystems plant in North Carolina, thereby complicating production of the Airbus widebody.

Passenger planes are naturally expected to be affected by this accounting, as a large share of the monthly production rate is tied to them, given that the dedicated freighter has yet to launch, but these latest delays at the end of the decade aren’t expected to be limited to passenger-only models.

Separately from the woes in the United States, Airbus in Spain is feeling the disruption with the cargo doors, which are built here. The sources indicate that the A350 Freighter, which leverages its doors built here, will face additional pressure, even though the first delivery remains on track for 2027 and the first flight is later this year.

With a great deal of consolidation across the industry, not just with airlines but fundamentally with supply chains already facing complexities from the COVID-19 pandemic, handovers have been far from smooth, and more often than not, the knock-on effects are passed on to the planemaker and airlines awaiting the jets, now with further delays.

What Does This Mean For A350 Customers

These latest woes compound years of discomfort for airlines around the world as they await delivery of the A350 family of aircraft. Delays are nothing new, and confirmation that these will continue, while frustrating, is to be expected.

For passenger airlines in particular, the delays reopen questions about the use of their current fleet, and, more specifically, ageing aircraft models that were previously planned for exit due to rising costs.

As a consequence, retaining these aircraft may be required to limit short-term capacity loss and sustain growth expectations, as older planes departing without an adequate replacement arriving on time would cause such loss.

In a market where both Airbus and Boeing are struggling to deliver jets on schedule, there are few, if any, alternatives for airlines to choose from. As a result, they’re forced to simply be patient and make alternative arrangements, possibly even seek compensation for the damages, but this certainly causes long-term headaches on multiple fronts.

For the cargo aspect, this is also expected to hit. While the launch of the A350F is reportedly on track, fresh pains in Spain mean there may be some disruption to the delivery of models towards the end of the decade; that said, it will remain under close watch.