Airbus could face jet delays after EU regulator mulls over design changes
Airbus’s launch of its upgraded A321XLR model could face delays after the EU regulator is considering design changes.
According to Reuters industry sources, the launch was postponed from late 2023 to sometimes in 2024 after the EU Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) considered making changes to the aircraft’s lower fuselage design.
Changes to the design of the underbelly fairing, the shell section of the fuselage between the wings, could add between six and nine months to the schedule.
To prevent the risk of fires, the sections would need to be longer and redesigned using heavier materials, sources added.
Both the plane manufacturer and the regulator refused to comment further, with an Airbus spokesperson calling additional information “pure speculation.”
“As the discussions with the airworthiness authorities are still ongoing, we are not in a position to comment,” they said.
A spokesperson for EASA added that certifying the A321XLR was an ongoing project, with conditions related to changes to the underbelly fairings “still under definition.”
The news comes on the same day Airbus released its results for the first quarter of 2022.
In the three months ended 31 March, the Toulouse-based company reported an 15 per cent increase in revenues to €12bn, while its adjusted EBIT went up to €1.3bn – 82 per cent up on last year’s €694m.
Airbus’s EBITDA related to its aircraft business also increased, doubling to €1bn as a result of order volumes soaring to 253.
“All in all we’re off to a very good start of 2022,” chief financial officer Dominik Assam told analysts.
Building on the results, the company announced it was keeping its 2022 guidance and increasing monthly production rates for the A320 family, going up to 75 in 2025 to meet customer demand.
“We are now working with our industry partners to increase A320 family production rates further to 75 aircraft a month in 2025,” said chief executive Guillaume Faury. “This ramp-up will benefit the aerospace industry’s global value chain.”
Commenting on the results, aviation analyst Sally Gethin said: “Airbus is showing healthy growth coming out of the pandemic. This is despite having to write off costs related to stopping production of the A380 and other factors beyond its control such as the conflict in Ukraine.”