Airbus hit by new A320 quality problem after software recall

By Tim Hepher

PARIS, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Airbus confirmed on Monday it faced an industrial quality issue with metal panels on some A320-family jets, in its latest challenge after a recall to fix a computer glitch.

Reuters exclusively reported earlier that Airbus had found quality problems affecting the fuselage panels of several dozen A320-family aircraft, delaying some deliveries.

There were no indications that any had reached aircraft in service, but shares in the world's largest planemaker fell as much as 11% as the glitch eclipsed the grounding of thousands of A320 jets for a software update. Shares closed down 5.9%.

"Airbus confirms it has identified a quality issue affecting a limited number of A320 metal panels," it said, adding: "The source of the issue has been identified, contained and all newly produced panels conform to all requirements".

A spokesperson said the problem stemmed from a supplier, who they declined to name.

Airbus has internal and external suppliers for its aerostructures, with the front of the A320 fuselage broadly made in France and the rear in Germany. Upper panels tend to be produced in-house with the rest involving multiple suppliers.

The problem is the latest for the best-selling model after a weekend recall of over half the A320-family fleet for repairs triggered by a software vulnerability to solar flares.

Operations were returning to normal on Monday after a change of software version was implemented faster than expected, with fewer than 100 still needing a possibly deeper hardware repair.

The A320, which recently ousted the Boeing 737 as the most-delivered jetliner, is also wrestling with repair bottlenecks that have grounded hundreds of jets for logistical reasons. On Friday Airbus introduced limits on some cold weather take-offs.

LOWER-THAN-EXPECTED DELIVERIES IN NOVEMBER

The quality problems emerged as Airbus is beefing up efforts to meet challenging delivery targets for the year and followed lower-than-expected indications for deliveries in November.

Shares in airline customers Lufthansa and easyJet were also dragged lower, traders said.

A person with direct knowledge of the matter said some deliveries were already being impacted, but there was no immediate confirmation of how many nor for how long. One source told Reuters the total number of jets affected was around 50.

How badly the flaw affects deliveries and whether the impact will fall in the current year or in 2026 depends where on the aircraft the problem is located, and on how serious it is.

Airbus said "only a portion" would need further action.

Industry sources told Reuters that Airbus delivered 72 aircraft in November, fewer than many analysts had previously expected and bringing the total for the year so far to 657.

Airbus, which declined comment, is targeting "around 820" deliveries for the year, meaning it would have to reach what analyst Rob Stallard called an "astronomical" performance of more than 160 jets in December.

"It was already a big ask for Airbus to hit that 2025 delivery number, and so these fuselage issues could not have come at a worse time," the Vertical Research Partners aerospace expert said in a note. Demand for the jets is strong, he added.

Illustrating Airbus' huge reliance on production of one cash-cow model for its overall financial performance, analysts largely overlooked the weekend's headlines on cosmic radiation, noting the financial impact of the software reset was limited.

Jefferies analyst Chloe Lemarie said in a note before the quality problem was reported that Airbus' delivery goal remains within reach, as underlying output rises.

Independent aviation analyst Rob Morris said Airbus could reach about 800 deliveries - which others say might be enough to claim victory based on the wording of its forecast - but with some risk that the final outcome will be "marginally lower".

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Additional reporting by Danilo Masoni in Milan;Editing by Bernadette Baum, Louise Heavens and Alexander Smith)