Airbus plans to further ramp up production of its hot-selling narrow-body jet, the Airbus A320, after Boeing acknowledged a slower rebound in production for its competing 737 Max jet.
While Airbus said Thursday it sees no short-term boost from Boeing's woes because delivery slots are sold out years in advance, the company plans a 12% increase to A320 output in the next few years.
The European plane-maker already has a goal to boost Airbus A320 neo production to 63 per month in 2021 from 60 at the end of last year. The firm is now looking to bolster the rate to 67 per month by 2023.
Last month, Boeing's archrival decided to add more production capacity for the Airbus A320 family at its plant in Toulouse, France, to help meet strong demand, which is especially high for the A321 Long Range and A321 Xtra Long Range variants.
Airbus' more aggressive production goals come as Boeing sees a longer timeline for ramping up output of the 737 Max, which initially was developed to compete with the Airbus A32o.
At a conference Wednesday, Boeing CFO Greg Smith said getting to a 57-per-month rate for 737 Max production will take "a couple of years" due to regulatory approval delays.
Boeing halted production last month, after slowing the rate last April to 42 from 52 a month as deliveries were put on hold. Boeing had planned to produce 47 jets monthly by this March, then hit 52 a month in September and 57 by April 2021, sources told Reuters in December.
But since then, Boeing has pushed back its timeline for when it expects the 737 Max to return to service, and now sees that happening by mid-2020, though management has said production will restart before service restarts.
Airbus A320 Drives Deliveries
Airlines have turned to the Airbus A320 following last March's grounding of the Boeing 737 Max after two deadly crashes that combined killed 346 people.
Faster production of the A320 and a slower recovery in 737 Max output could cement Airbus' lead over Boeing for years to come.
Last year, Airbus delivered 863 total planes as Airbus A320 neo deliveries shot up 43% to 551. For 2020, Airbus expects total deliveries to climb to about 880.
Meanwhile, Boeing delivered 380 jets in 2019, down from 806 in 2018, while losing a net 87 orders vs. a gain of 893 net orders in 2018. Boeing didn't have a single order in January 2020 as the 737 Max crisis continues.
But airlines currently have to wait five years or more to take delivery, so not all demand can shift to Airbus. The firm said increasing its production rate to 70 or more per month would require a substantial investment.
Boeing Stock
Boeing stock closed down 0.75% at 342.82 on the stock market today. Airbus stock fell 3.7% as it reported a net loss for 2019 and announced it would buy Bombardier's stake in the A220 program.
Boeing stock has regained its 50-day line, but its 200-day moving average has been providing resistance. Despite a recent rally, shares are still down more than 22% from its record high of 446.01. But its fortunes have been improving of late, and it is now up 6.1% in 2020. Still, Boeing stock has a dismal IBD Composite Rating of 27.
General Electric, whose CFM International joint venture with Safran supplies the 737 Max engine, fell 1.7%.
