Airbus said the delivery of its first long-range passenger jets to Australia's Qantas Airways has been delayed as supply chain issues plague the plane maker. The European group said on Tuesday that the first of 12 specially modified A350-1000 aircraft will now be delivered in April 2027.
Qantas said in 2022 that it would order new aircraft from Airbus to fly ultra-long-distance non-stop flights between Australian cities and London and New York. At the time, Qantas said the flights would be available from the end of 2025. Qantas later said the first aircraft would be delivered by the end of 2026.
Airbus said the delivery delays were "primarily attributable to the impact of supply chain issues".
Airbus has been forced to cut its aircraft delivery targets for 2022, 2024 and 2025 as global bottlenecks hamper the procurement of assembly essentials from seats to toilets. A shortage of engines supplied by RTX unit Pratt & Whitney has become Airbus' latest headache, although the group has confirmed its delivery targets for this year.
A Qantas spokesman said the first of the batch of A350s was in the paint shop and would undergo test flights within weeks.
The spokesperson said: "Next month we will announce the first route and the specific time of the first commercial service." She said that although the delivery of the first aircraft was delayed, subsequent aircraft will arrive soon, allowing the airline to return to its original plan before November.
"We continue to work closely with Airbus on the delivery and certification process, which will allow us to begin operating these historic ultra-long-haul flights," the spokesperson said.