Airbus narrows delivery gap but faces new A330 quality checks

By Tim Hepher

PARIS, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Airbus delivered as many as 72 aircraft in September, almost matching 73 a year earlier and limiting the impact of a recent industrial quality flaw, industry sources said on Friday.

Airbus declined to comment on the provisional delivery total ahead of a monthly industrial bulletin due on October 8. 

If confirmed, the tally would be higher than the visible total of tracked deliveries estimated by analysts in the mid to high 60s. Jefferies analysts estimated 68 deliveries.

Airbus shares rose around 1.8% by morning trading.

The unexpected pick-up in pace follows concerns about the effect of delays in the system including any impact from the latest industrial glitch involving parts for the A321neo, as well as existing shortages of engines and other parts.

RECORD FOURTH QUARTER NEEDED

Airbus has offered concessions to airlines to keep A321neo deliveries flowing despite the prospect of increased costs from shorter maintenance intervals, the sources said.

However, it will still need to deliver a record number of jets in the fourth quarter to reach year-end targets.

Airbus Commercial CEO Lars Wagner said this week that he was "very confident" of meeting the target of around 870 jets.

Industry sources said earlier in the week that September was ending below planned levels and one source noted a combined total of 20 jets had shifted from the third quarter into the fourth due to the cumulative impact of recent delays.

Airbus meanwhile said it had advised airlines to check A330 jets for loose objects after a tool was found in the horizontal tailplane of a jet earlier this year, slowing deliveries.

The recommendation anticipates a possible regulatory order later this year and affects jets delivered between January 2021 and July this year, a person familiar with the process said. That suggests a total of 160 jets including 15 MRTT military tankers and transport planes, according to Cirium data.

All aircraft that are currently coming out of production have been inspected and can be delivered, Airbus said in a statement confirming a Bloomberg report on the extra checks.

(Reporting by Tim HepherEditing by Kirsten Donovan and David Goodman)