Airbus has adjusted A220 production to 12 units per month in 2026 from 14 due to supply concerns and airlines awaiting upgraded engines.
With the Belfast production facility key to the supply chain, there have been postponements of several assemblies in 2025 and 2026. Deliveries reached 507 commercial aircraft in the first nine months of 2025 including 62 A220s up from 497 in 2024 with the backlog at 8,665 aircraft.
An A220 wing shortage in Belfast is contibuting to the delays despite a series of airlifts with Airbus set to assume production as they take over Spirit AeroSystems.
Supply chain problems in Canada and the United States postpone assembly of several A220s in 2025 and nearly 10 in 2026 shifting the 14 units per month milestone to December 2026.
Airbus is maintaining an internal benchmark of 12 units per month by mid-2026 up from the current seven to eight with a goal of 100 handovers in 2025 a one-third increase from prior years.
Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engine issues ground up to 40pc of Korean Air’s A220 fleet in early 2025 with airBaltic grounding 14 aircraft leading to 19 route cancellations. Maintenance for the engines requires up to 300 days amid shortages of spares and repair capacity with 32 aircraft awaiting engines down from a peak of 60.
Airbus plans a 160-seat A220 version in 2027 through seat pitch changes to bridge regional jets and narrowbodies like the A320 family with few shared parts. The programme holds a backlog of 500 orders as of early 2025 with production expansion essential to lower costs after acquisition from Bombardier in 2018.
Airbus Helicopters recorded 306 net orders in the first nine months of 2025 spread across the range with Airbus Defence and Space at 6.8bn euro in orders.
Overall, Airbus revised targets for 820 commercial jet deliveries and adjusted EBIT of about €7bn for 2025 with free cash flow before customer financing at 4.5bn euro. Airbus reported third-quarter revenues of €17.83bn n 2025 exceeding estimates with adjusted EBIT of 3.27bn euro up 38pc from the previous year.
The Quebec government writes down its 25pc stake in the A220 programme by 400m Canadian dollars equivalent to 270m euro citing trade tensions and supply chain issues.
Guillaume Faury shared, “The current balance between supply and demand has led to an adjustment of the ramp-up trajectory, with the Company now targeting to reach rate 12 in 2026. Airbus now has a backlog of 32 aircraft assembled and waiting for engines, down from a peak of 60. 2025 deliveries would remain very backloaded and cited continued delays in shipments from both its main suppliers for the A320neo family.”
Benoit Schultz of Airbus Canada shared, “Airbus is on track to achieve an internal goal of 100 A220 handovers to airlines in 2025, which represents a one-third increase from previous years.”
