SAFRY - Airbus faces new supply-chain snag with Pratt & Whitney recall: WSJ

2023-07-26 12:30:48 ET

Airbus ( OTCPK:EADSF ) ( OTCPK:EADSY ) this month was hit with another constraint to its supply chain that may hamper efforts to keep its lead over rival Boeing ( NYSE: BA ), The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The European plane maker has worked to ramp up production of A320 planes as its backlog extends into the early 2030s. Many of the single-aisle planes use a geared turbofan (GTF) engine made by Pratt & Whitney, a unit of aerospace and defense giant RTX ( NYSE: RTX ).

Inspections Needed

RTX ( RTX ), formerly Raytheon Technologies, this week revealed that Pratt & Whitney will need to inspect 1,200 of the engines after finding a flaw in its metal materials. The company and Airbus said the defect doesn’t affect flight safety.

Pratt & Whitney may need to keep more new engines in inventory if flawed engines are taken out of service for maintenance. Airbus ( OTCPK:EADSF ) ( OTCPK:EADSY ) may miss its goal to deliver 720 commercial planes this year, falling short by as many as 50 aircraft, according analysts at Citibank cited by the Journal .

Airbus ( OTCPK:EADSY ) ( OTCPK:EADSF ) already has had to delay its goal of delivering 75 of its A320 planes a month by 2026. A major hurdle is getting enough engines made by Pratt & Whitney and CFM International, the joint venture between General Electric ( NYSE: GE ) and a unit of French aerospace company Safran ( OTCPK:SAFRY ) ( OTCPK:SAFRF ).

More about aerospace & defense

• Boeing's stock hits 52-week high as plane maker reports smaller loss
• RTX downgraded to Equal weight at Morgan Stanley after jet-engine recall
• RTX plunges to 9-month low after disclosing Pratt & Whitney engine defect
• Safran to buy Collins Aerospace flight control unit in $1.8B deal

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