Covid-19 crisis puts further pressure on big jets

The aviation-industry crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic is exacerbating a yearslong move by airlines away from big jets. Rolls-Royce Holdings, a bellwether for the market for so-called wide-body aircraft, said it raised a further GBP2b to help shore up its liquidity as demand for its engines wanes among airline customers. The UK supplier specializes in making and servicing engines for the industry’s biggest aircraft. It said Thursday that its revenue will be lower than forecast until at least 2027 as it cuts back production and has fewer engines flying as a result, cutting back revenue related to engine servicing and maintenance. Shares fell as much as 9.5% in London. Airbus, meanwhile, said late Wednesday it had booked 21 orders for wide-bodies, but received cancellations for 22 in the first six months of the year. Airlines have more recently started to add back some capacity. But the type of demand that is returning—typically for shorter intracontinental or domestic routes—threatens to exacerbate a yearslong shift by airlines into smaller, nimbler jets. Airbus said that it received 344 new orders for narrowbodies, or single-aisle jets, with 45 cancellations in the first six months of the year. Airbus and Boeing have been pivoting in recent years to adjust to airline customers’ new reluctance to buy their biggest jets. Instead, carriers have flocked to smaller, single-aisle planes that are more fuel efficient, more flexible on range and can be filled up with passengers more easily.<br/>