Airbus (AIR.PA) is asking key suppliers to get ready for a further 18% increase in A320-family jet output by the end of 2022, on top of existing targets for this year, as airlines eye a partial return to normal travel, industry sources said.

The tentative new planning goal would lift output of the workhorse domestic and medium-haul jet, which competes with Boeing’s 737 MAX, to 53 a month, they told Reuters.

The number being floated for the end of next year remains informal and Airbus has only committed so far to raising output in two steps to 45 a month by the end of 2021, from 40 now. Read more