Airbus Delivered 57 Jets in August, Leaving a Steep Climb to Its 2026 Target

On September 7, 2026, Airbus reported 57 commercial aircraft deliveries in August, bringing its total for the year to 475. That is about 9 percent ahead of the same point in 2025, but well short of the pace the planemaker needs to reach its full-year target of roughly 870 jets.

To hit that number, Airbus must deliver about 395 more aircraft in the final four months of 2026, an average of almost 99 per month. Its monthly average through August was under 60.

What shipped in August

The 57 August deliveries went to 31 customers and were dominated by single-aisle jets: 16 A320neos and 26 A321neos, plus 10 A220-300s and a single A319neo, a variant Airbus is phasing out. Only four widebodies left the line, one A330-900 and three A350-1000s.

The A330 line is still recovering. Deliveries were paused in June and July after Airbus found a tool missing on the production line, as Air Data News reported, and August’s single handover was the first since. A330 deliveries are down about 31 percent year over year.

Orders slowed but the backlog is huge

Airbus booked 67 gross orders in August, down from 204 in July. The month’s business included 40 A321neos for Shenzhen Airlines, 15 A350-900s for Air China, and eight A350F freighters for an undisclosed buyer.

For the year, Airbus has taken 1,157 gross orders, or 1,091 after cancellations. Its order backlog stands at roughly 8,700 aircraft, close to a decade of production at current rates.

Why the year is so back-loaded

A heavy fourth-quarter push has become routine for Airbus. It delivered only 114 aircraft in the first quarter of 2026 and has climbed since, and it leaned on large December surges to hit its numbers in recent years.

The main constraint is engines. Pratt & Whitney’s geared turbofan, one of two engine choices on the A320neo family, has been in short supply for years because of a powder-metal manufacturing flaw. CFM International, which builds the competing LEAP, fell behind earlier in 2026 before catching up, Reuters reported.

Complete airframes waiting on engines have parked around Airbus plants as a result. That makes the rest of the year a test of whether engine makers can deliver, not just whether Airbus can assemble.

Airbus still outpaced Boeing on deliveries through the first half of 2026, and its order book keeps growing. The open question for the next four months is supply: whether enough engines and parts arrive to turn a record backlog into jets on customers’ ramps.