By Tim Hepher
PARIS, May 20 (Reuters) – Airbus has informed some customers of further delays to A350 deliveries later this decade, raising fresh concerns over shipments from a U.S. parts factory recently acquired by the European planemaker, three industry sources said.
The sources said the delays mainly reflect ongoing problems in securing critical fuselage parts from the former Spirit AeroSystems plant in Kinston, North Carolina.
Separately, cargo doors built by Airbus in Spain for the new A350 Freighter are also facing some disruption, they added.
Airbus said it never comments on delivery timelines.
A spokesperson said the A350 Freighter’s first flight, due later this year, and its first delivery in 2027 remain on track.
Airbus bought the Kinston factory, along with Spirit’s Belfast-based wing plant for the smaller A220, last year as most of the supplier returned to its former parent Boeing.
The 500,000-square-foot, robot-equipped Kinston site makes composite panels for the long-haul A350’s upper fuselage and a carbon-fibre spar, or beam, for each wing.
Industry sources said the handover to Airbus had been hampered in part by staffing issues, with some employees opting to rejoin former Spirit operations under Boeing.
“The transition hasn’t gone smoothly,” a senior aerospace source told Reuters.
Airbus told analysts last month it had found no negative surprises at Kinston, though CFO Thomas Toepfer highlighted the logistical complexity of sending experts from Europe to support the ramp-up.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher. Editing by Alex Richardson and Mark Potter)
