The head of the aircraft manufacturer Airbus is considered level-headed. In view of the missed delivery target in the previous year, the Frenchman Faury is now apparently bursting at a meeting. According to an insider, there is a significant need for improvement in the processes.
According to insiders, Airbus boss Guillaume Faury is now taking on his own executives because of the ongoing delays in production. The fact that only 20 aircraft were delivered in January - a third fewer - must be another wake-up call, Faury said in an internal meeting with managers, participants reported. "He made it clear that this must not happen again," said one of them. The normally so thoughtful Frenchman was angry.
Faury had to admit in December that the world's largest aircraft manufacturer would miss the target of 700 delivered machines in 2022, which had already been corrected downwards. In the end it was 661. Airbus declined to comment on the information.
The European aircraft manufacturer had so far blamed the sluggish ramp-up on the suppliers - above all the engine manufacturers - and the fragile supply chains. Electronic components and chips are now more readily available again, and dependency on titanium from Russia is decreasing. But now, according to insiders, concern about steel supplies is growing. Increasingly, attention is directed to internal structures. "There is a loss of control in the production process," said a person familiar with the operations. "Solving internal problems is more important than pointing fingers at the supply chain."
It is now eagerly awaited which delivery targets for the current year Airbus will name on Thursday. Faury made it clear that the number should not be below the target for the past year. Nevertheless, Airbus should be cautious about public statements. Insiders believe it is possible that Faury will set a "pain threshold" of 700. Many analysts assume almost 750.
Airbus recently pushed back the goal of increasing production of the best-selling A320 series from 45 to 65 machines per month by a few months to the end of 2024. By 2026 there should be 75 - although some suppliers consider that ambitious. For the larger Airbus A350, the group had set a target of six (previously five) aircraft per month for the beginning of this year. At the end of last year it was four and a half. Airbus is now heading for the number six by 2024.
