Aviation's wheelers and dealers meet under shadow of MAX crisis

The financiers behind the world's airline industry are gathering for the first time since a mid-air cabin blowout tipped Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab into a new safety crisis, amid signs of wider disruption to the $150b jet industry. Lessors, bankers and airlines meeting in Dublin - home to a booming global air finance sector - will contemplate the supply consequences of a recent partial grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX 9, following the Alaska Airlines incident earlier in January. For months, aviation has been struggling to keep pace with a post-pandemic travel boom because of labour and parts shortages.<br/>But widespread outrage over the near-disaster that led to an emergency landing with a gap in the side of an aircraft, though no major injuries, has added a new layer of regulatory risk. "Demand is more or less a slam dunk; the question is when does the supply catch up?" Rob Morris, head of global consultancy at Ascend by Cirium, told Reuters ahead of the week-long Airline Economics conference starting on Monday. "We have estimated 2026 or 2027, but there must be a risk on the downside now because of the MAX." The FAA last week took the unusual step of ordering Boeing to stop increasing 737 MAX production until questions over its quality controls have been addressed. It has given no indication how long the limit may last. But when it is lifted, industry experts say regulators are expected to add checks that may dampen predictions for industrial growth.<br/>