Aerospace chiefs prepare for bumpy ride in recovery of long-haul flights

Aircraft makers feared the coronavirus pandemic would deal them and the buyers of their jets, the airlines and leasing groups, a near-mortal blow. Eighteen months on, passengers have returned — but mostly on short-haul routes. As passenger demand nears or even matches pre-pandemic levels on shorter journeys where smaller, single-aisle jets are used, long-haul traffic remains subdued with many of the big wide-body planes that fly the intercontinental routes still sitting idle. With more than 1,400 of these twin-aisle jets still in storage in aircraft hangars at the start of December, according to data from aviation consultancy Cirium, the timing of a recovery in the wide-body market remains uncertain. Although the numbers are down from the peak of the pandemic in March 2020 when about 3,586 twin-aisles were in storage, it is still almost 30% of the current fleet as airlines have been slow to bring these planes back into service. It is a sharp contrast to pre-pandemic times when some executives say there were too many larger aircraft after a decade of strong production and deliveries. Story has more.<br/>