*

Engine maker and Airbus yet to reach supply agreement for

2026

and 2027

*

Pratt executive says he is confident a deal will be

reached

*

Airbus delivered 19 planes in January, down from 25 in

January

2025, sources say

By Tim Hepher

SINGAPORE, Feb 5 (Reuters) - ‌Airbus' main

aircraft production target hangs in the balance as the

planemaker remains without a supply ​deal with engine maker Pratt

& Whitney, industry sources said.

The companies ‍are bogged down in a dispute over allocations

of ⁠engines between Airbus ⁠production lines and the maintenance

shops that serve airlines, and have yet to reach ‌a crucial

engine supply agreement for both ​2026 and 2027.

Airbus said last month engines were arriving "very, very

late" and particularly those from RTX-owned Pratt & Whitney,

with ⁠which it had yet to ‍reach an ​agreement for this year and

next.

On Wednesday, the president of Pratt & Whitney's commercial

engines division, Rick Deurloo, said at the Singapore Airshow ‍he

was confident an agreement would be reached.

A deal is increasingly vital as the clock ticks towards

Airbus earnings on February 19, the sources said on condition of

anonymity because the talks are private.

Airbus declined to comment.

A key issue at stake is whether ​or to ‍what extent the

planemaker can stick to a production target of 75 narrowbody

jets a month in 2027, up from ​about 60 a month now.

Pratt & Whitney supplies engines for about 40% of the

benchmark A320neo-family jets being assembled.

Although engines continue to be supplied on a hand-to-mouth

basis, uncertainty over the delivery stream makes it challenging

to assess the probability needed to underpin any formal target.

The company delivered 19 planes in ​January, down from 25 in

the first month last year, industry sources said.

Bloomberg News reported last week that Airbus had yet to

settle on a 2026 delivery target ‍due to engine shortages.