Airbus (OTCPK:EADSF) (OTCPK:EADSY) faces a steep climb to close out the year, needing to hand over 133 aircraft in December to meet its updated annual delivery goal. The challenge comes as the manufacturer deals with an unusual cluster of technical issues that could pull attention away from production.
The company reported Friday that it delivered 72 jets in November, bringing the year-to-date total to 657. Hitting the target is still possible, as Airbus (OTCPK:EADSF) (OTCPK:EADSY) managed 123 deliveries last December alone, but this year’s final stretch is being complicated by quality concerns tied to the A320 family.
The past several days have underscored the pressure. On Wednesday, Airbus (OTCPK:EADSF) (OTCPK:EADSY) cut its delivery guidance by 30 aircraft. Days earlier, airlines worldwide were forced to rush through a software patch affecting more than 6,000 A320-series jets after engineers discovered that solar radiation could interfere with flight-control systems. And on Monday, the company disclosed that it must examine several hundred A320s for potentially faulty fuselage panels.
Despite the turbulence, Airbus (OTCPK:EADSF) (OTCPK:EADSY) continued to build its order book. In November it logged 75 new gross orders, including a fresh commitment from IndiGo for 30 A350-900 widebodies, lifting the Indian carrier’s Airbus (OTCPK:EADSF) (OTCPK:EADSY) backlog to 919 aircraft.