Airbus Sets Ambitious 2026 Delivery Target as Engine Shortages Cloud Ramp-Up

Airbus SE is targeting approximately 870 commercial aircraft deliveries this year, a roughly 10 per cent increase over the 793 jets it handed to customers in 2025, as the Toulouse-based manufacturer seeks to return to pre-pandemic production highs despite persistent supply chain constraints.

The guidance, issued alongside full-year results on 19 February, signals confidence from chief executive Guillaume Faury that Europe's dominant planemaker can sustain its industrial momentum even as a critical bottleneck threatens to slow its flagship narrowbody programme.

Pratt & Whitney, the Raytheon Technologies unit that supplies geared turbofan engines for the A320neo family, has failed to commit to the volume of powerplants ordered by Airbus, forcing the company to revise its medium-term production trajectory. Airbus now expects to reach a monthly build rate of 70 to 75 A320-family aircraft by the end of 2027, retreating from a previous target of 75. It is a significant concession for a programme that accounts for the overwhelming majority of Airbus's backlog, which stood at a record 8,754 aircraft at the end of last year.

Full-year revenues rose 6 per cent to €73.4 billion, with commercial aircraft activities generating €52.6 billion. Adjusted operating profit climbed to €7.1 billion, supported by a more favourable hedge rate and growth in services, though tariff-related headwinds partially offset the gains.

The delivery outlook comes as Boeing mounts a recovery of its own, having outpaced Airbus on both orders and deliveries in January. For European aerospace strategists, the concern is less about competitive positioning and more about execution: whether the continent's industrial base can deliver at the scale the market demands while its key American engine supplier struggles to keep pace.