Airbus first-quarter deliveries drop as supply woes extend into new year

Airbus SE delivered 127 jets in the first quarter, a 9 percent drop from a year earlier, as shortages of parts such as engines spilled into the new year.

Deliveries totaled 61 aircraft in March, the world’s biggest maker of commercial jetliners said Tuesday in a statement.

The lower first-quarter tally will make it harder for Airbus to reach its goal of increasing deliveries to 720 aircraft this year.

The European planemaker got off to a slow start in January, delivering just 20 aircraft after citing supply chain constraints for holding up production.

The company will need to make up the shortfall with higher output through the rest of the year, Jefferies analyst Chloe Lemarie said in a research note last week, anticipating the first-quarter drop.

Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury has warned that parts shortages will hurt the industry for at least the rest of the year.

Airbus delivered 661 aircraft in 2022, after lowering its initial target. It handed over 140 jetliners in the first quarter of last year.

The parts shortages have forced Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, to slow an ambitious plan to ramp up output of its A320 family of single-aisle jets.

The European planemaker is targeting 65 units by the end of 2024, with a further rise to 75 in 2026. Both goals are about a year later than Airbus’s previous projections.

First-quarter sales totaled 142 after cancellations, Airbus said. March orders totaled 18 units by the same measure.

Boeing Co. is scheduled to report orders and deliveries later on Tuesday.