Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury told CNBC on Tuesday that the plane maker remains on pace to deliver about 820 commercial aircraft in 2025, even as engine production delays continue to limit its capabilities.
In an interview with CNBC’s Phil LeBeau, Faury said the European company is “on track” with aircraft production and has been making “gliders,” or finished planes without engines, as it awaits engine deliveries from manufacturers CFM International and Pratt & Whitney.
“All our attention will be on engine deliveries from both CFM and Pratt & Whitney, but they’re telling us that they will be able to deliver what we need. So we remain positive for the back end of the year,” Faury said.
Airbus delivered 61 planes in August, bringing its total for the year to 434. U.S. rival Boeing announced Tuesday it delivered 57 planes in August and 385 so far in 2025, continuing to trail Airbus in that metric. Boeing hasn’t issued delivery guidance for the year.
Aircraft manufacturers have faced engine production delays for years. RTX, which owns Pratt & Whitney, in 2023 said engine manufacturing defects would impact hundreds of engines through 2027.
Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury speaks during the Airbus summit 2025 at the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, southern France, on March 24, 2025.
Ed Jones | Afp | Getty Images
Faury attributed the engine delivery delays to quality issues and worker strikes.
“But I think basically they have the capabilities to produce the volumes that are expected, so I hope they will be back on track and then delivering on their commitments,” he said.
Airbus has maintained its deliveries target throughout the year, even as tariffs have threatened to roil its business. The current U.S. trade agreement with the European Union, however, spares the aircraft industry from President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs.”
Faury on Tuesday said he believes the tariff relief is “the right thing to do.” But what continues to worry him most about the global economy is uncertainty, he said.
“We are long-term industries. We need visibility. We need predictability. And all this change is not predictable, and having to adapt all the time is slowing us down,” Faury said.
