Airbus CEO says 2022 deliveries may affect later output

The head of European planemaker Airbus on Wednesday reaffirmed a target of delivering a total of 700 aircraft in 2022 – a task he said was necessary to reach a separate monthly production target of 65 narrowbody jets in early 2024.

“There is a lot on our plate … for the last three months of the year, but it is not very different from what we have done in ’17, ’18 and ’19,” Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said.

“That is for 2022. And we need to get there to be on our way (to) reaching 65,” he told the UK Aviation Club.

That in turn will help determine whether Airbus can reach a longer-term goal of 75 narrowbody jets a month in 2025,