Airbus plans to make 820 planes this year despite supply chain problems

Airbus has said it aims to make 820 planes this year as the world’s biggest aerospace manufacturer attempts to overcome problems in its supply chain. The European company said that deliveries would rise by 7% compared with the 766 planes made last year, as it reported an 8% drop in income for 2024 excluding various charges, to E5.4b. Guillaume Faury, Airbus’s CE, described it as “a testing year” but said “strong order intake” confirmed there was “solid demand for our products and services”. The company, headquartered in Toulouse, France, also reported a E300m charge at its struggling space business, adding to the E1b of losses it had already recognised for the division during the year. It is considering a merger with the French rival Thales’s space division. Ramping up production of commercial planes has proved tricky, with Airbus’s supply chain struggling to recover from disruption and retirements during the coronavirus pandemic. That has prevented Airbus from fully pressing home its advantage over its US rival Boeing. Boeing has left Airbus as the unchallenged global leader because of years of safety crises, including a mid-air loss of a door panel a year ago. Adding to Boeing’s woes, the US president, Donald Trump, said on Wednesday that he was considering buying used Boeing aircraft to serve as the new presidential transport, Air Force One, after years of delays and high costs. Trump toured a newer Boeing 747-800 plane in Florida on Saturday. Speaking to reporters onboard one of the two almost 35-year-old Boeing 747-200 aircraft in current use, Trump said: “We’re looking at alternatives, because it’s taking Boeing too long.” He said: “We may go and buy a plane,” adding that he could then “convert it”. However, he ruled out buying an Airbus plane.<br/>