Key Highlights

  • Airbus targets nearly doubling adjusted annual operating profit to between 12 billion and 13 billion euros by 2029.
  • The company aims to deliver more than 1,000 aircraft a year, roughly four per working day, by decade's end.
  • Airbus is on track to reach a production rate of 70 to 75 A320 family jets per month.
  • Boeing expects demand to continue outstripping supply through roughly the end of the decade.

Focus Shifts From Orders to Execution

Airbus and Boeing are preparing to boost production to deliver on record order backlogs stretching into the next decade, as the world's two largest planemakers work to overcome supply chain problems that have constrained output. The traditional competition between the companies for new plane orders, which typically dominates the biennial Farnborough air show, took a back seat this year as executives focused instead on how to fulfil existing commitments.

Airbus Chief Executive Guillaume Faury told investors the company had ticked a lot of important boxes regarding its ability to supply, even as plans to raise deliveries have been hampered by shortages of engines and cabin seats. The company set out plans to nearly double its adjusted annual operating profit to between 12 billion and 13 billion euros in 2029 compared with 2025 levels, underscoring optimism that persistent bottlenecks are finally being overcome.

A New Emphasis on Execution and Quality

About 10 billion euros of Airbus's ambitious profit target is expected to come from its commercial aircraft unit, led by Lars Wagner, who took over the division in January with a mandate to drive better performance. Wagner said execution is priority number one, describing an effort to reshape the company's culture given its substantial backlog and the need to deliver aircraft on time to customers waiting behind each order.

Airbus aims to make about 870 deliveries this year, though analysts believe the company is on track to exceed that target following a strong first half. Wagner said Airbus needs to prepare its factories to deliver more than 1,000 aircraft annually, roughly four aircraft per working day, by the end of the decade, with planes needing to move through factories at a steady, predictable pace. The company has launched what it calls a quality moonshot initiative aimed at halving the amount of work that fails to meet quality standards, with Wagner emphasising he wants greater employee accountability and no rework or issues discovered after the fact.

Ambitious Production Targets Across Aircraft Families

Airbus said it remains on track to meet its target of producing 70 to 75 aircraft per month of its best-selling A320 family of narrow-body jets, while also seeking to raise output of its long-haul, wide-body A350 beyond the 12-per-month target already set for 2028. One industry analyst noted that Airbus needs a production system capable of delivering the required volumes, adding that the whole ecosystem, including suppliers, needs to be upgraded to support such an increase.

Wagner said Airbus would also consider acquisitions to help boost earnings, including in after-market services, following the company's recent acquisition of aircraft parts supplier Unical Aviation. He also expressed a desire to reshape the relationship between planemakers and engine manufacturers to align their incentives more closely, though he did not provide further details, noting that while planemakers earn money primarily from aircraft sales, engine manufacturers typically generate most of their profit over an engine's operational lifespan.

Boeing Pursues Its Own Certification and Supply Milestones

While Airbus holds a dominant position in the narrow-body market, rival Boeing remains ahead in the wide-body segment. Wagner is reportedly studying possible plans for a larger variant of the A350, the A350-2000, which would directly compete with Boeing's long-delayed 777X, expected to be certified next year. Boeing Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg said on the eve of the Farnborough show that the company hopes to secure certification of its two final 737 Max variants this year, followed by the long-range 777X.

Ortberg said market demand continues to outstrip supply, predicting the industry would likely remain in that situation through roughly the end of the decade, adding that Boeing's current focus is on supplying its existing backlog rather than pursuing additional new orders.

Conclusion

Both Airbus and Boeing appear to be entering a phase defined less by competition for new orders and more by the operational challenge of converting record backlogs into actual deliveries, with Airbus's ambitious profit and production targets reflecting confidence that supply chain bottlenecks are finally easing. Whether both companies can sustain the pace of production increases needed to meet demand that both firms expect to outstrip supply for years to come may depend heavily on how successfully the broader supplier ecosystem, particularly engine manufacturers, can scale alongside the planemakers themselves.