As Boeing lurched from one crisis to the next last year, its European rival quietly went about churning out aircraft, with Airbus SE chief executive officer Guillaume Faury routinely reminding his staff to remain humble.
Faury was well aware how quickly the tables can turn in an industry that only knows two main players. And the past week brought an unwelcome reminder that Airbus, too, isn't immune to the production woes bedeviling aircraft manufacturing, with supply and worker shortages being acute issues years after the pandemic ended.
Early Wednesday, Airbus was forced to revise its aircraft delivery target for the year, an important metric the company had long maintained was achievable, even as the warning alarms sounded louder. But after discovering that a little-known supplier from Spain had delivered out-of-spec aircraft panels, Airbus was finally forced into reverse.
It wasn't the only piece of bad news Airbus doled out in the last few days. Late Friday, the France-based company called for an urgent software revision for a fleet of about 6,000 A320 aircraft, its most popular product after discovering a possible fault in the way the computers interact with flight controls. Three days later, Airbus disclosed the quality issue on some metal panels that make up the fuselage of the same jet, forcing an arduous inspection of more than 600 units.
The one-two punch this week spooked investors and triggered the planemaker's worst trading day since April. And the stumble was made all the more glaring as Boeing enjoyed its best stock return in months after striking an optimistic note on its financial recovery.
On Tuesday, the US manufacturer laid out several upbeat predictions: from higher deliveries of its 737 and 787 models next year to finally being able to generate cash again after years of outflow. Investors lapped up the good news, pushing the stock as much as 10% higher.
Boeing has managed to extract itself from a yearslong crisis that began in late 2018 with the first of two aircraft crashes in rapid succession, was compounded by the Covid-19 crisis and then grew more acute still in early 2024, when sloppy workmanship led to another near-catastrophe on an airborne plane. Then late last year, a strike halted production for weeks and sapped the planemaker's resources.
But the iconic US company has mounted a comeback since then under the new leadership of CEO Kelly Ortberg, who's revitalised the company and made some significant management changes. Boeing also enjoyed the backing of the White House.
To be sure, Airbus' recent setbacks aren't likely to be on the level of the considerable meltdown that Boeing suffered last year.
But the delivery revision will still leave some airlines waiting even longer for their planes, at a time when carriers are seeking to urgently upgrade their fleets.
Faury was well aware how quickly the tables can turn in an industry that only knows two main players. And the past week brought an unwelcome reminder that Airbus, too, isn't immune to the production woes bedeviling aircraft manufacturing, with supply and worker shortages being acute issues years after the pandemic ended.
Early Wednesday, Airbus was forced to revise its aircraft delivery target for the year, an important metric the company had long maintained was achievable, even as the warning alarms sounded louder. But after discovering that a little-known supplier from Spain had delivered out-of-spec aircraft panels, Airbus was finally forced into reverse.
It wasn't the only piece of bad news Airbus doled out in the last few days. Late Friday, the France-based company called for an urgent software revision for a fleet of about 6,000 A320 aircraft, its most popular product after discovering a possible fault in the way the computers interact with flight controls. Three days later, Airbus disclosed the quality issue on some metal panels that make up the fuselage of the same jet, forcing an arduous inspection of more than 600 units.
The one-two punch this week spooked investors and triggered the planemaker's worst trading day since April. And the stumble was made all the more glaring as Boeing enjoyed its best stock return in months after striking an optimistic note on its financial recovery.
On Tuesday, the US manufacturer laid out several upbeat predictions: from higher deliveries of its 737 and 787 models next year to finally being able to generate cash again after years of outflow. Investors lapped up the good news, pushing the stock as much as 10% higher.
Boeing has managed to extract itself from a yearslong crisis that began in late 2018 with the first of two aircraft crashes in rapid succession, was compounded by the Covid-19 crisis and then grew more acute still in early 2024, when sloppy workmanship led to another near-catastrophe on an airborne plane. Then late last year, a strike halted production for weeks and sapped the planemaker's resources.
But the iconic US company has mounted a comeback since then under the new leadership of CEO Kelly Ortberg, who's revitalised the company and made some significant management changes. Boeing also enjoyed the backing of the White House.
To be sure, Airbus' recent setbacks aren't likely to be on the level of the considerable meltdown that Boeing suffered last year.
But the delivery revision will still leave some airlines waiting even longer for their planes, at a time when carriers are seeking to urgently upgrade their fleets.
