Boeing’s biggest customers are losing patience. And they express frustration at the numerous delays in the delivery of new devices while traffic continues to increase.
The delays are “extremely annoying”, considers Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr in an interview for the Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung.
“Everyone has an interest in Boeing being able to soon build large airplanes more reliably again,” he said.
“Not satisfied”
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates, Boeing’s largest customer, is less diplomatic.
“Management promised to change things and make them faster, I hope,” he explains.
Let us remember that the production of the American aircraft manufacturer is collapsing due to multiple investigations by the regulator after the various incidents that affected its planes. In the first quarter, Boeing delivered only 83 aircraft, the lowest number since mid-2021. And at the same time, the long-haul 777-X has not yet been certified.
Consequences on summer flight plans
With demand for air travel expected to be very strong for holidays and the number of travelers worldwide expected to reach historic levels, with 4.7 billion people expected in 2024, compared to 4.5 billion in 2019, The sector is currently facing a shortage of new aircraft.
According to Martha Neubauer, senior associate at AeroDynamic Advisory, cited by Reuters, carriers will receive 19% fewer aircraft than expected a year ago, a figure that rises to 32% for US companies.
Enough to force some companies, particularly those most dependent on Boeing, to review their flight plans or even reduce the capacities offered, although they have mechanisms to compensate for these lost deliveries (in particular, through the leasing of aircraft ).
At Ryanair, for example, 17 Boeing planes are missing this summer (40 instead of 57), so it will be necessary to make “adaptations” in July and August on a dozen routes, warns the low-cost company. Which means less frequency in certain destinations.
Source: BFM TV
