Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury told CNBC on Tuesday that airplane makers are still at the pace to deliver around 820 commercial aircraft in 2025, despite delays in engine production continuing to limit capacity.
In an interview with CNBC’s Phil Lebeau, Faury said that the European company is “on track” in aircraft production, creating “gliders” or engineless planes as they await engine delivery from manufacturers CFM International and Pratt & Whitney.
“We have our attention in delivering engines from both CFM and Pratt & Whitney, but they say they can provide us with what we need. So we will remain positive throughout the end of the year,” Faury said.
Airbus delivered 61 planes in August, bringing its annual total to 434. US rivals Boeing Announced Tuesday, 2025 has delivered 57 and 385 planes so far, and has continued to follow Airbus with its metrics. Boeing does not issue delivery guidance for that year.
Aircraft manufacturers have faced delays in engine production for many years. RTXHe owns Pratt & Whitney in 2023 and said that engine manufacturing defects will affect hundreds of engines by 2027.
Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus, will speak at the Airbus Summit in 2025 on March 24, 2025 at Airbus Headquarters in Toulouse, southern France.
Ed Jones | AFP | Getty Images
Faury believes that delays in engine delivery are attributed to quality issues and worker strikes.
“But I think they basically have the ability to produce the volume they are expected, so I hope they get back on track and offer their commitment,” he said.
Airbus has maintained its delivery target throughout the year despite tariffs threatening to take away its business. However, the current US trade agreement with the European Union holds the aircraft industry behind President Donald Trump’s “mutual tariffs.”
Fawley said Tuesday that he believes tariff relief is “the right thing.” But it is uncertainty that keeps him most concerned about the global economy.
“We are a long-term industry. We need visibility. We need predictability. And all this change is not predictable, and it’s about slowing down us to always be able to adapt,” Faury said.
