Airbus and Boeing aircraft delivery delays likely to worsen: Udvar-Hazy

Air Lease Corp. is taking new Airbus A321neo aircraft at least six to seven months late due to a myriad of production and supply chain issues facing the European airframer. But that’s not a one-off problem. More broadly, neither Airbus nor Boeing are delivering planes on time, and it’s only getting worse, said ALC Executive Chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy. “Every plane last year and this year is delayed,” he said at the Skift Aviation Forum on Wednesday, naming Airbus A330s and A350s, as well as Boeing 737s and 787s. “I think they’ll get worse before they get better.” Lessors and airlines have been calling out the big planemakers for delays for nearly a year now. But, in a spirit of optimism from both Airbus and Boeing, executives have repeatedly suggested that they were about to turn the corner on production issues. That does not appear to be the case, with Udvar-Hazy agreeing that the airframers may not be able to meet their contractual delivery schedules until at least 2023 or 2024. The delivery issues have forced many airlines to extend leases on older aircraft they intended to retire. They’re also forced to fly less than they’d like. Many carriers had hoped to boost capacity and improve fuel efficiency, thus cutting operating expenses, with newer models this year. Udvar-Hazy said carriers are renewing more than 90% of their leases with ALC currently, or well above the historic rate of around 60%. And the capacity constraints are very real. Southwest Airlines, a large 737 Max customer, had intended to recover the schedule depth — those hourly or near-hourly frequencies, for example, that it flew on many shorter routes before the pandemic — this year after adding 18 new cities in 2020 and 2021. Those plans were extended well into 2023 due to numerous issues, including delays getting new aircraft from Boeing, Southwest VP of Network Planning Adam Decaire said.<br/>