PARIS, July 30 (Reuters) - Airbus AIR.PA CEO Guillaume Faury said the number of completed airframes still waiting for delayed engine deliveries had risen to 60 and that the delays now involved Pratt & Whitney RTX.N on top of earlier problems with rival CFM GE.NSAF.PA.
Speaking in a half-yearly media briefing, however, Faury defended the company's target of raising deliveries by 7% to 820 jets for 2025 as a whole, which he said was supported by an agreement with the engine makers to secure enough deliveries.
He also said Airbus was progressing towards the planned opening of a second assembly line in China at end-2025 and, on defence, pledged to stay onboard a Franco-German-Spanish fighter project despite tensions with partner Dassault Aviation AM.PA.