Airlines rue lack of planes as Boeing, Airbus delays stack up
Exasperation trumped exuberance at aviation’s largest annual trade expo, as airline executives lamented a shortage of Boeing Co. and Airbus SE aircraft that’s shown no signs of letting up. The planemaking duopoly is still struggling to recover from a Covid-19 pandemic that ripped through the supply chain, forcing suppliers to shed workers with decades of experience. Airbus has put the brakes on an ambitious production ramp-up, while an in-flight fuselage blowout on a 737 Max in January tipped Boeing into a crisis that’s sapped output. Airlines eager to grow are instead having to pare back. “This is a moment of pure frustration,” FlyDubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith said at the Farnborough Airshow outside of London. The budget carrier has received just four of the more than 10 Max aircraft that were scheduled to arrive in 2024, and was told last week that no more are coming for the rest of this year. Deliveries for 2025 are unclear. “Whatever patience we had, this was too much,” Al Ghaith said. “This will have a major effect on operations.” In conversations with airline customers, “top of mind remains getting aircraft,” said John Plueger, the veteran CEO of Air Lease Corp., a major aircraft lessor. “Not getting them on time, but just getting them.” <br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2024-07-25/general/airlines-rue-lack-of-planes-as-boeing-airbus-delays-stack-up
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Airlines rue lack of planes as Boeing, Airbus delays stack up
Exasperation trumped exuberance at aviation’s largest annual trade expo, as airline executives lamented a shortage of Boeing Co. and Airbus SE aircraft that’s shown no signs of letting up. The planemaking duopoly is still struggling to recover from a Covid-19 pandemic that ripped through the supply chain, forcing suppliers to shed workers with decades of experience. Airbus has put the brakes on an ambitious production ramp-up, while an in-flight fuselage blowout on a 737 Max in January tipped Boeing into a crisis that’s sapped output. Airlines eager to grow are instead having to pare back. “This is a moment of pure frustration,” FlyDubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith said at the Farnborough Airshow outside of London. The budget carrier has received just four of the more than 10 Max aircraft that were scheduled to arrive in 2024, and was told last week that no more are coming for the rest of this year. Deliveries for 2025 are unclear. “Whatever patience we had, this was too much,” Al Ghaith said. “This will have a major effect on operations.” In conversations with airline customers, “top of mind remains getting aircraft,” said John Plueger, the veteran CEO of Air Lease Corp., a major aircraft lessor. “Not getting them on time, but just getting them.” <br/>
