- Kyle Chua
Expect Airfares To Keep Rising As The World Grapples With Aircraft Shortage
If you're planning to travel anytime soon, prepare to cough up higher-than-usual sums for your airfare as the world grapples with a shortage in aircrafts.
There's currently an order backlog of 12,720 aircrafts, with Boeing and Airbus both dealing with supply chain constraints, according to American investment group Jefferies, as cited by the South China Morning Post (SCMP). The two aerospace giants are sold out for their most popular single-aisle planes through until at least 2029.
Aircrafts are also not being delivered on time. Steve Udvar-Hazy, Founder of Air Lease, said every jet delivered to one of the world’s largest lessors over the past two years has been late. “We haven’t got one aeroplane on time, whether it’s a 737 MAX or a 787 or an A330, A350,” he said.
"It’s a combination of supply chain issues, ramping up too quickly and shortage of labour," he added. "Production workers cannot work from home."
That's why both Boeing and Airbus are trying to ramp up production and make deliveries the top priority. The former's investors are believed to be worried about the planemaker's slow progress in resolving supply chain issues and ramping up work in its factories. The latter, meanwhile, might not longer receive new orders, given that it has a backlog of more than 6,100 planes for the A320neo family, which could take up to eight years to fulfil.
SCMP also notes there are hundreds of planes stored when travel collapsed during the pandemic that have yet to return to their fleets, either because they need heavy maintenance after a long period of not being used or because they're already being phased out.
Compounding all these factors, along with the increased demand for post-pandemic travel, airfare prices aren't likely to go down anytime soon and could even rise further in the long run.
“People got used to lower fares during the pandemic and China’s reopening will make it worse,” Ajay Awtaney, Founder of travel website LiveFromALounge.com told SCMP. “It’s not just a shortage of planes but also other factors like oil prices.”
There's an order backlog of 12,720 aircrafts, with Boeing and Airbus both dealing with supply chain constraints, according to investment group Jefferies.
The two aerospace giants are sold out for their most popular single-aisle planes through until at least 2029.
This means airfare prices aren't likely to go down anytime soon and could even rise further in the long run.