Emirates held back by staffing shortages and not enough planes into 2023

Travel demand couldn’t be better for Emirates, with President Tim Clark describing flights as “full up” as far out as March. But the airline, and broader industry, is struggling to meet the demand amid persistent staffing and aircraft supply chain issues. “I see a capacity hole,” Clark said on the international travel outlook into the new year at the Ultratravel Forum in London on Monday. The airline has roughly 40 aircraft out of service for cabin modifications or due to staffing shortages, he said. And Emirates, one of the largest global connectors, is only hopeful, as Clark put it, that it can have its full fleet up and flying by next summer. Emirates is not constrained alone. The recovery of airlines around the world is hamstrung by some combination of staffing and aircraft availability. Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr said at the end of October that the airline industry would not return to the “overcapacities” it saw before the pandemic “anywhere soon,” because of the constraints “forced” on it. Executives at Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines have all cited similar trends. And those constraints add costs. Both staffing issues and aircraft delivery delays contribute to inefficiencies at airlines that, on top of high fuel prices, drive up operating expenses. For example, lack of staff or airport constraints can mean a carrier operates aircraft less than it normally would. That lower utilization translates higher unit costs excluding fuel. Clark did not comment on the cost situation at Emirates, which is privately held and does not disclose regular operating data.<br/>