Bullish Airbus ramps up plane building as recovery takes hold

Higher production rates will deliver a significant boost to a number of British companies which are key parts of Airbus’s supply chain, such as Melrose-owned GKN, Senior and Bodycote. 

Production of Airbus’s bestselling family of single-aisle A320 jets will increase from 40 aircraft per month to 45 by the end of this year, hitting 64 by summer 2023, a similar level to before the pandemic.

Airbus said that suppliers should be ready for a monthly build rate of 70 jets by the first quarter of 2024, the company’s highest-ever production rate for the A320 model. 

Airbus, which makes the wings for all its airliners at its manufacturing base in Broughton, North Wales, slashed output by about a third last summer as Covid-19 caused demand to plummet.

It also cut more than 10pc of its staff – 15,000 jobs – as it adjusted to the new environment. 

Airbus added it was investigating opportunities for rates as high as 75 by 2025 for the jet, which is currently assembled at plants in France, Germany, the US and China.