Airbus pares A320 ramp-up to 70-75 per month, blames Pratt & Whitney

Airbus said in investor communications on Feb. 18–19, 2026 that it would reduce its near-term A320-family output ambition, targeting between 70 and 75 narrowbody jets per month by the end of 2027 and stabilising at 75 a month thereafter. The company said the move was driven by "significant shortages" of engines from Pratt & Whitney and warned that the supplier's delay in committing to engine volumes is "negatively impacting this year’s guidance and the ramp‑up trajectory."

The revision trims a previously stated goal of reaching 75 A320s per month in 2027 from a current production baseline that Airbus describes as "around 60" per month. Pratt & Whitney, a unit of RTX, supplies engines for roughly 40 percent of Airbus's A320neo-family aircraft, meaning its output shortfalls directly constrain how many finished jets Airbus can deliver even as demand recovers.

Airbus said it and Pratt & Whitney have not finalised volume agreements for 2026 or 2027, deals that manufacturers typically set about 18 months ahead. Pratt & Whitney has also faced operational disruption, including a backlog of inspections following a production problem, which industry participants say has tightened competition for scarce parts. Pratt & Whitney's parent RTX did not respond to a request for comment.

The supplier dispute has wider ripple effects. CFM, the GE-Safran joint venture that provides competing engines, told Airbus it was "not ready to wade into the worsening dispute between Airbus and Pratt & Whitney by boosting its own deliveries to Airbus, saying its priority was to meet its existing supply commitments." That stands to limit short-term mitigation options for Airbus and magnifies the leverage of engine makers over airframe producers.

The production adjustment comes as Airbus reported stronger profitability and raised broader delivery ambitions. The company said core profit rose 17 percent in the fourth quarter and reiterated plans to aim for "around 870" commercial aircraft deliveries in 2026, up from an initial ambition of 820 in 2025. CEO Guillaume Faury said the firm had "successfully navigated a complex and dynamic operating environment to deliver on our updated guidance" and added that "global demand for commercial aircraft underpins our ongoing production ramp-up, which we are managing while facing significant Pratt & Whitney engine shortages." He also linked the 2025 results to a proposed higher dividend, saying "these 2025 results and the confidence in our future financial performance support the proposed higher dividend payment."

Beyond narrowbodies, Airbus is pursuing separate program ramps: the A220 is targeted at 13 per month by 2028, the A350 at 12 per month by 2028, and the A330 at five per month by 2029. Airbus also highlighted business-unit strength, with Helicopters revenue up 13 percent to $10.6 billion and Defence and Space revenue up 11 percent to $15.8 billion.

The dispute underscores a persistent post-pandemic bottleneck in the engine sector that has forced repeated production trims at Airbus in recent years. Airlines and lessors face planning uncertainty as OEMs juggle strong orderbooks with supplier constraints; rival Boeing, by comparison, delivered about 600 commercial jets last year, up from 348 the year before, illustrating divergent recovery paths. For policymakers and regulators, the episode highlights the strategic concentration in engine supply and the importance of industrial-policy measures or incentives that can strengthen capacity in critical aerospace supply chains over the long term.