Airlines hit by jet shortages in new challenge for aviation
Southwest has a problem. America’s largest low-cost carrier has been forced to reduce the number of daily flights because the company does not have enough planes and is also short of pilots to fly them. The airline “sold more flights than they’ve been able to operate”, said Captain Casey Murray, president of Southwest Airlines Pilots Association. It has gone from offering about 5,000 flights a day to a range of 4,000 to 4,300 as it waits for Boeing to deliver jets. “As we move forward and staffing is corrected, airframes will become the issue,” he said. A shortage of new jets is the latest challenge for the global airline industry, which has been grappling with resurgent passenger demand following the pandemic while at the same time facing an exodus of staff and spare parts. Deliveries of new jets have been hampered by severe constraints in the supply chain, particularly for engines, pushing back delivery times for many airlines. Airbus, Boeing’s European rival and the world’s largest plane maker, was this summer forced to slow down an aggressive ramp-up in the production of its best-selling A320 family of jets, citing supply chain disruptions, logistics and energy supplies among its challenges. United Airlines CE Scott Kirby told investors Boeing and Airbus were “probably two to three years away” from making aircraft at pre-pandemic rates. Delta CE Ed Bastian added that manufacturers’ “difficulty with . . . producing aircraft” was one challenge among many facing airlines as demand to travel increases. Derek Kerr, CFO at American Airlines, also said on Thursday that the carrier now expects to receive 19 737 Max jets from Boeing next year instead of 27. The airline has planned its schedule around receiving the planes on a new timetable, and “they need to meet those dates for us to hit the level of [operations]”. Boeing said the company continued “to work closely with suppliers to address industry challenges, stabilise production and meet our commitments to customers”.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2022-10-24/general/airlines-hit-by-jet-shortages-in-new-challenge-for-aviation
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Airlines hit by jet shortages in new challenge for aviation
Southwest has a problem. America’s largest low-cost carrier has been forced to reduce the number of daily flights because the company does not have enough planes and is also short of pilots to fly them. The airline “sold more flights than they’ve been able to operate”, said Captain Casey Murray, president of Southwest Airlines Pilots Association. It has gone from offering about 5,000 flights a day to a range of 4,000 to 4,300 as it waits for Boeing to deliver jets. “As we move forward and staffing is corrected, airframes will become the issue,” he said. A shortage of new jets is the latest challenge for the global airline industry, which has been grappling with resurgent passenger demand following the pandemic while at the same time facing an exodus of staff and spare parts. Deliveries of new jets have been hampered by severe constraints in the supply chain, particularly for engines, pushing back delivery times for many airlines. Airbus, Boeing’s European rival and the world’s largest plane maker, was this summer forced to slow down an aggressive ramp-up in the production of its best-selling A320 family of jets, citing supply chain disruptions, logistics and energy supplies among its challenges. United Airlines CE Scott Kirby told investors Boeing and Airbus were “probably two to three years away” from making aircraft at pre-pandemic rates. Delta CE Ed Bastian added that manufacturers’ “difficulty with . . . producing aircraft” was one challenge among many facing airlines as demand to travel increases. Derek Kerr, CFO at American Airlines, also said on Thursday that the carrier now expects to receive 19 737 Max jets from Boeing next year instead of 27. The airline has planned its schedule around receiving the planes on a new timetable, and “they need to meet those dates for us to hit the level of [operations]”. Boeing said the company continued “to work closely with suppliers to address industry challenges, stabilise production and meet our commitments to customers”.<br/>
