A shortage of aircraft and engine construction difficulties could mean consumers face a further two years of record flight prices.
For decades, two major firms have held a tight grip on the aeroplane manufacturing market: Boeing with a 40.6% share and Airbus with the remaining 60.4%. But significant disruption at the former is wreaking havoc around the world.
More than 30,000 workers in Washington and Oregon have been on strike, affecting the production of two key Boeing models, the 737 Max and 777 – and that is before you add in further supply chain issues from COVID and a parts shortage.
As a result, aircraft now take up to five years from the point of order to reaching the runway.
And it’s not just Boeing. The Trent 1000 engine, made by Rolls-Royce, which powers the Boeing 787, is experiencing issues with longevity. Faults and a shortage of parts to make new ones mean there are grounded aircraft around the world awaiting repair.
British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are two of the biggest carriers that have been forced to ground flights, and even remove entire routes from their schedules.
BA will not run its daily London Gatwick to New York JFK route between 12 December and the end of March, while Virgin Atlantic is cutting back on routes to Shanghai, Nassau in the Bahamas and Providenciales in Turks and Caicos, with the final flights for these scheduled to depart in February next year.
Paul Charles, chief executive of the PC Agency and a former director at Eurostar and Virgin Atlantic, says the main issue is that demand far outstrips what airlines can offer.
“There is a shortage of both planes and staff, so airlines are finding it difficult to expand as much as they want to,” he told the Money blog.
“Especially as we are now taking more holidays per year – there is not the capacity to fulfil that demand.”
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