It’s been a bumpy few days for Airbus and its best-selling airliner.
The planemaker issued a software recall for some 6,000 A320 family jets on Friday, before confirming on Monday that it had identified a quality issue with panels on some planes.
Markets were spooked when Reuters first reported the quality issue: Airbus shares dipped as much as 11%, their biggest decline since April.
It pared some losses after the company issued a statement. Investors also appeared somewhat reassured when shares rose 4% on Wednesday as Airbus cut its 2025 delivery target.
Even with that rise, Airbus’ share price remains down by around 8% over the past month.
However, hundreds of A320s need to be inspected, including some that have already been delivered to airlines.
This episode began on October 30, when a JetBlue A320 suddenly pitched downward during a flight from Cancún to Newark. At least 15 people were injured, and the plane diverted to Tampa, Florida.
Europe’s aviation safety agency then issued an emergency airworthiness directive on November 28.
It said Airbus found the JetBlue incident was due to a malfunctioning computer system called the ELAC, which controls the plane’s pitch and roll.
Airbus said that “intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls.” A preliminary report into the incident is yet to be published.
Thousands of planes required software fixes over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Although many airlines were able to roll this out overnight with minimal disruption. Fewer than 100 A320s were still grounded by Monday.
Another issue rears its head
Following a Reuters report, Airbus confirmed a quality issue with metal panels on some A320 aircraft, the firm’s best-selling plane and the main competitor to the Boeing 737.
An Airbus spokesperson told Business Insider that a supplier’s production process resulted in panels being either too thick or too thin.
Citing a leaked presentation, Reuters and Bloomberg reported that up to 628 planes were affected, with over 100 already delivered to airlines.
Airbus declined to comment on the precise figures, but confirmed that planes potentially affected include both those in production and those in service.
The spokesperson said up to five panels per aircraft could be affected, located behind the cockpit and on both sides of the two forward doors. They also said it was not a safety issue.
“As it always does when faced with quality issues in its supply chain, Airbus is taking a conservative approach and is inspecting all aircraft potentially impacted — knowing that only a portion of them will need further action to be taken,” they added.
Airbus was previously targeting 820 commercial aircraft deliveries this year, but has now reduced that to 790.
This month typically sees a big push in production as manufacturers try to reach their annual targets.
Deliveries are a key metric for financial analysts, and the target reduction reassured some investors. Airbus also maintained its financial guidance for the year.
It’s due to report November’s delivery figures on Friday.
The European planemaker’s share price is still up nearly 24% this year. However, the past few days serve as a reminder of how things can suddenly change in aviation.
Airbus’ A320 overtook the Boeing 737 as the most popular commercial airliner this year, following safety concerns at the American manufacturer.
But Boeing has been turning around, with the latest evidence coming on Tuesday. Its share price jumped 8% after its chief financial officers told a UBS conference that deliveries were expected to increase next year, and it is up nearly 30% since December 2024.
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