Airbus Faces New Challenges Amid Production Goals and Political Uncertainty
In the coming weeks, workers and observers at the Airbus plant in Hamburg are bracing themselves for a familiar yet unwelcome sight: airplanes parked on the apron, waiting for engines. "We don’t like it, but we are building gliders again," admitted Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury during the company’s annual press conference.
The aviation sector, known for its global interconnectedness, faces obstacles linked to last autumn's hurricanes that struck Florida. A supplier's plant of engine manufacturer CFM International was severely damaged, exacerbating an already significant bottleneck in aircraft engine supply. As a result, the repercussions of these challenges will echo through Airbus’s operations in Hamburg-Finkenwerder over the following months.
The industry is recovering from the setbacks of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet it remains stunted. Airbus, for example, is attempting to ramp up production to 820 large civil aircraft in 2025—up from 766 in 2024. This is a significant decline from pre-pandemic levels, where production reached 863 units in 2019. The struggles are compounded by the existential crises that many companies within the supply chain have faced, leading to massive layoffs.
Political dynamics are further complicating matters. The possibility of the United States imposing tariffs on aircraft and components poses another layer of uncertainty for Airbus, potentially impacting its deliveries to American customers. Faury, however, remains optimistic, pointing to strong global demand for Airbus jets as a buffer against potential political fallout. The company can redirect aircraft intended for U.S. airlines to other markets and leverage its substantial manufacturing presence in Mobile, Alabama, to uphold local production.
On a more immediate note, CFM International—the joint venture between GE Aerospace and Safran—has promised to resolve its supply chain issues by midyear. Failure to meet this promise could jeopardize Airbus’s delivery targets. Additionally, Airbus has been grappling with challenges surrounding its acquisition of key components from Spirit AeroSystems, a supplier currently facing dire financial straits and falling behind production schedules. To navigate through this, Airbus is set to acquire Spirit plants and is willing to invest hundreds of millions of euros into restructuring over the next few years.
Another area of concern is the delay in developing a hydrogen-powered aircraft, seen as a crucial step toward sustainable aviation. Due to an overwhelming backlog of over 7,700 aircraft orders, the pressure is on Airbus to deliver. The company aims to boost production of the A320neo series to 75 jets per month within two years, increasing the output for both the A220 and A350 models in the process.
Amid these pressing demands, Airbus has made the strategic decision to postpone the cargo variant of the A350F by one year, now aimed for delivery in the latter half of 2027. Additionally, work on a hydrogen aircraft has been slowed, primarily due to insufficient investments in the necessary ground infrastructure and production of hydrogen fuel. Despite the setbacks, Faury reinforced Airbus’s commitment to hydrogen technology, highlighting progress in developing fuel cells that would convert liquid hydrogen into electrical energy, producing no CO₂ emissions.
Despite the cloud of challenges weighing overhead, Airbus reported an increase in sales from 65 billion euros to around 69 billion euros in 2024. The company achieved a net profit of four billion euros, marking a rise of approximately 400 million euros compared to the previous year, a testament to its resilience amidst the turbulence in the aviation sector.
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