Airbus, Boeing aircraft delivery delays slow airline recovery

What do JetBlue Airways and Canada’s Transat have in common? Both are at the mercy of Airbus where aircraft delivery delays, coupled with similar issues at competitor Boeing, are forcing airlines to limit schedules and slowing the global aviation recovery. Cowen & Co. analyst Helane Becker wrote earlier in September that US airline capacity in Q4 compared to 2019 could fall below the level reached in the third quarter. US carriers flew about 93% of what it flew three years ago in September quarter. Aircraft delivery delays are a big constraint, as well as the well documented staffing issues that the US industry faces. “Capacity growth is limited by aircraft and pilot availability,” Becker wrote in a September 8 report. “Although carriers would like to reach pre-pandemic levels of capacity, that is unlikely given current constraints.” Air travel demand, as opposed to airline capacity, is nearly back at pre-pandemic levels. Over the US Labor Day holiday weekend, the TSA screened 3% more people than it did over the same five-day period in 2019. And airlines have reported continued strong demand into the fall and winter. With new aircraft arriving late and travel demand back, airlines are getting creative to fly their schedules. The late arrival of new A321LR aircraft have forced New York-based JetBlue to operate a plane designed for its US domestic routes on select flights to London for nearly two weeks in September, Diio by Cirium schedules show. Story has more.<br/>