Boeing and Airbus prepare for next narrow-body battle – but airlines aren't pushing for new jets yet

Airbus and Boeing are planning their next narrow-body aircraft, but both say airlines remain focused on current fleets and deliveries. Boeing says it needs a few more years to rebuild its finances before launching a new jet, while Airbus is targeting a program launch around 2030. Analysts say investors remain focused on production, certification and supply chains rather than new aircraft programs.

Boeing and Airbus are starting to map out the next generation of narrow-body aircraft, but the world's two dominant planemakers say their airline customers are more concerned with getting today's jets delivered than pressing for all-new models. Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said Monday that the company still needs "a couple more years" to put its finances in a position to support a new commercial aircraft program. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury, meanwhile, said the European manufacturer is targeting the launch of a next-generation single-aisle program around 2030, with entry into service in the second half of the following decade. While the two CEOs struck different tones, they pointed to broadly similar timeframes. Airbus has publicly attached a target year to launch its next aircraft. Boeing is indicating that it could be financially capable of moving on a similar horizon, while preserving the option to wait if the technology or market case is not strong enough.

The technology also has to be ready, he said, and airline customers must be ready to move on from Boeing's current product line. "The market's got to be ready. Right now, the customers are telling me, 'focus on your existing product line, we really want to see better maturity of the existing product line before we move to a new airplane.'"

It comes as aircraft manufacturers experience persistent production bottlenecks across the industry. Boeing is trying to increase 737 Max output and is still reeling from a series of production and quality issues and a near-catastrophic blowout of a fuselage door plug in January 2024. Airbus has said engine availability, particularly from Pratt & Whitney, forced it to adjust production plans for this year and next, although Faury said the situation had stabilized.

Faury said Airbus is focused on ramping production and delivering aircraft already on order even as it prepares its next generation of commercial aircraft. "We're a long-term industry," Faury said. "It takes time to prepare the technologies, to launch a program for the product, for the production system, [to] enter into service with the certification, do the ramp up."

Faury said Airbus is preparing its next-generation single-aisle aircraft and wants to maintain its lead in that market. The company is targeting a program launch around 2030 and entry into service in the second half of the 2030s. For both manufacturers, however, increasing production and delivering existing orders remain the more immediate tasks.

Aircraft deliveries in focus RBC Capital Markets analysts said last week that investors are focused on Boeing's ability to increase production of the 737 Max and 787, complete certification of the Max 7 and Max 10, improve margins, and generate cash. "The primary f...