By Joshua Kirby
Airbus said delivery of the first of a batch of long-distance passenger jets to Australia's Qantas Airways has been delayed as supply-chain issues buffet the plane maker.
The first of the 12 specially adapted A350-1000s will now be delivered in April 2027, the European group said Tuesday.
Carrier Qantas in 2022 said it would order new aircraft from Airbus that would be able to make ultra-long-haul, nonstop flights between Australian cities and London and New York. At the time, Qantas said the flights would be available from the end of 2025. Qantas later said the first craft would be delivered at the end of 2026.
The delay to the delivery is "largely due to the impact of supply-chain issues," Airbus said.
Airbus was forced to trim its aircraft-delivery goal in 2022, 2024 and 2025 because of supply-chain snarls, as global bottlenecks stymied sourcing of assembly necessities from seats to toilets. A shortage of engines--supplied by RTX-owned Pratt & Whitney--has become Airbus's latest headache, though the group has backed its delivery targets for this year.
The first of the batch of the A350s is in the paint shop and set for test flights in a matter of weeks, a spokesperson for Qantas said.
"Next month we'll announce the first route and timing of our inaugural commercial services," the spokesperson said. Despite the delay to the initial delivery, the subsequent planes will arrive in quick succession, allowing the airline to return to its original schedule by November, she said.
"We continue to work closely with Airbus on the delivery and certification process that will enable us to begin operating these history-making ultra long-haul flights," the spokesperson said.
Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 26, 2026 03:40 ET (07:40 GMT)
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