DUBLIN Reuters - The world's largest aircraft lessor AerCap warned that delivery problems at Boeing and Airbus were likely to last years and that manufacturers were giving airlines too little notice about delays.
AerCap chief executive Aengus Kelly told Airline Economics at the annual Airline Economics conference in Dublin that over-promising and under-delivery is likely to be an issue for manufacturers for years to come.
The challenge with OEMs original equipment manufacturers is the short dated nature of how they are notifying airlines of the delays, Kelly said.
If you're an airline looking towards the summer of 2023, you've sold the seats, you've hired the crews, you've booked the slots and you're in real trouble if the airplane doesn't show up. He said that some airlines are opting to buy 20 year-old aircraft rather than take a risk on new models.
Kelly, one of Airbus' largest customers, said that they saw Airbus sell too much on huge optimism about what they could deliver.
We've seen several revisions of what Airbus thought they would deliver in 2022. I think we're going to see that feature in the OEMs for years to come. After over-promising to airlines last year, the CEO of the rival Air Lease Corp warned earlier on Monday that manufacturers would struggle to meet their delivery commitments in 2023.
Kelly said that by the middle of the year global air traffic will return to pre-pandemic levels.
He said that while there is less disposable income in the wallet, we as the aviation industry are not competing against as many things for our share of the wallet.
People have bought as many Xboxes, Peloton bikes, flat screen TVs, Nike shoes as they need.