Pratt engine supply doubts weigh on Airbus output goal, sources say
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Model of a Pratt & Whitney GTF engine is displayed at the 54th International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France, June 20, 2023. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
By Tim Hepher
SINGAPORE, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Airbus' main aircraft production target hangs in the balance as the planemaker remains without a supply deal with engine maker Pratt & Whitney, industry sources said.
The companies are bogged down in a dispute over allocations of engines between Airbus production lines and the maintenance shops that serve airlines, and have yet to reach a crucial engine supply agreement for both 2026 and 2027.
Airbus said last month engines were arriving "very, very late" and particularly those from RTX-owned Pratt & Whitney, with which it had yet to reach an agreement for this year and next.
On Wednesday, the president of Pratt & Whitney's commercial engines division, Rick Deurloo, said at the Singapore Airshow he was confident an agreement would be reached.
A deal is increasingly vital as the clock ticks towards Airbus earnings on February 19, the sources said on condition of anonymity because the talks are private.
Airbus declined to comment.
A key issue at stake is whether or to what extent the planemaker can stick to a production target of 75 narrowbody jets a month in 2027, up from about 60 a month now.
Pratt & Whitney supplies engines for about 40% of the benchmark A320neo-family jets being assembled.
Although engines continue to be supplied on a hand-to-mouth basis, uncertainty over the delivery stream makes it challenging to assess the probability needed to underpin any formal target.
The company delivered 19 planes in January, down from 25 in the first month last year, industry sources said.
Bloomberg News reported last week that Airbus had yet to settle on a 2026 delivery target due to engine shortages.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Jamie Freed)
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