European plane maker Airbus on Thursday said it continued to expect the commercial aircraft market to recover to pre-COVID-19 levels between 2023 and 2025, led by the single-aisle segment.
The company was providing suppliers with an update of its production plans, giving visibility in order to schedule necessary investments and secure long-term capacity and production rate readiness, in line with the expected recovery.
In the A320 Family, Airbus confirmed an average A320 Family production rate of 45 aircraft per month in the fourth quarter.
The company asked suppliers to prepare for the future by securing a firm rate of 64 by second quarter of 2023 and to enable a scenario of rate 70 by first quarter 2024.
Longer term, Airbus is investigating opportunities for rates as high as 75 by 2025.
In the A220 Family, the production is currently at around rate five aircraft per month from Mirabel and Mobile, and the rate is confirmed to rise to around six in early 2022.
Airbus is also expecting a monthly production rate of 14 by the middle of the decade.
In the A350 Family, the current average production rate is five per month, which is expected to increase to six by autumn 2022.
A330 Family’s production remains at an average monthly production rate of two per month.
Guillaume Faury, Airbus CEO, said, “The aviation sector is beginning to recover from the COVID-19 crisis.
“The message to our supplier community provides visibility to the entire industrial ecosystem to secure the necessary capabilities and be ready when market conditions call for it.
“In parallel, we are transforming our industrial system by optimising our aero structures set-up and modernising our A320 Family production facilities.
“All these actions are set in motion to prepare our future.”