Boeing strike could exacerbate international jetliner lack, specialists say

Boeing's. initially strike in 16 years might even more compound global shortages. of jetliners that have actually been rising airfares and requiring. airline companies to keep older jets flying longer, industry executives. and experts said.

The U.S. planemaker's West Coast workers went on strike at. midnight on Friday after extremely turning down an agreement. offer, stopping production of Boeing's workhorse 737 MAX.

It is Boeing's descent on given that 2008, and Boeing Chief. Financial Officer Brian West warned a prolonged walkout could. hurt output and threaten our healing.

Boeing is a systemically important business for worldwide. aviation, Ross O'Connor, chief monetary officer of Irish. renting company Avolon, told Reuters on Friday.

A strike could have an impact on production levels, which. could worsen a few of the supply lacks that are in the. market at the moment for sure, he said after Avolon announced. it had actually obtained a large portfolio of jets from Castlelake.

Airlines have struggled to broaden capacity to meet rising. need as supplies of jetliners are cut by parts. shortages, industry-wide recruitment problems and strained. upkeep shops.

Analysts have been alerting the most appealing part of the. industry's critical service cycle might go out in the past. airlines have an opportunity to delight in the full benefits of need.

It's going to be a significant quantity of time before we see. that balance. I'm beginning to evolve the hypothesis that it. will not be (additional) supply that corrects it, but instead a. softening of need, said Rob Morris, worldwide head of. consultancy at Cirium Ascend.

Some say high air fares - although helpful for airlines in the. short term - might themselves speed up that tipping point.

My view is that (average fares) will rise; and when ticket. rates increase, then all other things being equal, you have lower. traffic levels, stated aviation economist Adam Pilarski, senior. vice-president at AVITAS consultancy.

As Boeing stops production of its most-sold jet, European. competing Plane is also having a hard time to satisfy its objectives.

Plane Chief Executive Guillaume Faury expressed optimism at. a U.S. Chamber of Commerce conference today that the. European planemaker would satisfy a just recently decreased target of 770. deliveries this year, following a revenue caution and engine. supply glitch in the summer season.

But following a short-term spike in shipments in July,. industry sources questioned how comfortably the world's largest. planemaker would exceed last year's 735.

Dwindling numbers of airplanes in storage and record-high. utilization of existing aircrafts validate the supply squeeze.

FLEET AGE RISING

For now, Boeing's lower production levels compared to. Airbus may limit the incremental impact of the strike. Yet. experts said airlines have little room to maneuver.

With leasing companies also running out of readily available. capability, providers need to keep existing jets flying longer.

For the majority of the past 15 years, the typical age of the fleet. declined as airline companies and leasing companies made the most of low. rate of interest to purchase new fuel-saving jets.

In 2010, the average age of the extensively flown single-aisle. jet fleet was about 10.2 years, according to Cirium information.

After dipping to 9.1 years throughout the pandemic as airline companies. grounded fleets, the age began growing again. It now stands at. 11.3 years and still heading upwards, Morris said.

That is despite efforts to reach net no emissions by 2050,. which rely partially on improving the aircrafts in service.

It should mean that we're burning more CO2 than we must be. because we're utilizing more old airplane ... so among the important things. that can go wrong is sustainability, Morris stated.

The airline company industry states it is confident of reaching a. target of net no emissions by 2050.

(source: Reuters)