PARIS: Airbus has discovered an industrial quality issue affecting fuselage panels of several dozen A320-family aircraft, industry sources said on Monday.
The suspected production flaw is delaying some deliveries but there are no immediate indications that it has reached aircraft in service, the sources said, asking not to be named.
Airbus had no immediate comment. The origin of the problem could not immediately be identified. It emerged as Airbus is beefing up efforts to meet challenging delivery targets for the year and has also been distracted by a weekend recall of jets over a software bug.
A person with direct knowledge of the matter said some deliveries were already being impacted, but there was no immediate confirmation of how many nor for how long. Industry sources said the airplane maker delivered 72 aircraft in November, fewer than many analysts had previously expected and bringing the total for the year so far to 657.
It is targeting around 820 deliveries for the year, meaning it would have to reach a record performance of over 160 jets in December.
Delivery goals
Analysts were divided on whether the world’s largest airplane maker will meet the delivery goals, which determine revenue and cash flow as airlines pay much of a plane’s value on delivery.
Jefferies analyst Chloe Lemarie, who tracks the handover of aircraft and is forecasting 71 deliveries for November, said the month’s performance was weaker than expected. The target remains within reach, however, as underlying production is rising, she added in a note to investors issued before word emerged of the reported quality problem.
Aviation analyst Rob Morris said Airbus could reach 800 deliveries, which others say might be enough to claim victory based on the wording of its forecast — but with some risk that the final outcome will be “marginally lower”.
