Airbus expects to decide soon on expanding A350 production capacity as airlines seek more long-haul aircraft, its commercial aircraft chief Lars Wagner said on October 14, 2026.
Speaking at a briefing in Toulouse, France, Wagner said the investment would need board approval, Reuters reported.
“The decision for an increased rate on the A350 is inevitable,” he said.
Airbus’s existing A350 assembly line was designed to produce 12 to 13 aircraft a month. Going beyond that would require another line and additional manufacturing capacity, Wagner said.
The company already aims to build 12 A350s a month in 2028, a target it reaffirmed in its July 2026 financial results. The expansion now under discussion would allow production to rise further.
Airbus is also studying larger versions of the A350 and A220, referred to internally as the A350-2000 and A220-500. Wagner said there was demand for both aircraft, with decisions about whether to build them expected early in the company’s next five-year planning period. Neither aircraft has been formally launched.
The production ambitions come as Airbus works through delays affecting aircraft already on order. In May 2026, some A350 customers were warned of later deliveries amid shortages of fuselage components.
Those problems included disruptions at the former Spirit AeroSystems plant in North Carolina that Airbus acquired as part of the supplier’s breakup.
Airbus has also faced engine supply problems on its smaller aircraft. In its first-quarter results, the company said Pratt & Whitney deliveries were limiting increases in A320-family production in both 2026 and 2027.