Air India CEO Warns Aircraft Shortage to Last for Four to Five Years
Campbell Wilson, the CEO of Air India, stated that the worldwide aircraft shortage that is impeding airline expansion will continue for four to five years as supply issues limit output at Boeing and Airbus.
During an event hosted by the travel website Skift, Wilson stated that he believes there are shortages in the supply of first-class and business seats, narrowbody jet engines, and some fuselage components.
Two years after the Tata Group acquired the airline, Air India is currently implementing a bold turnaround plan, but delays in jet deliveries have made these efforts more difficult.
"If you are capacity constrained, you need to be a little bit more ruthless with respect to where you deploy aircraft to maximise the return," he added. "It means you can't expand to places you would otherwise like to expand."
Due to these failures, the airline has been obliged to keep older aircraft in service longer than anticipated, which has increased maintenance costs and slowed its drive for modernization and growth.
According to Wilson, leasing aircraft is difficult due to the competition among airlines and the variety of configurations offered.
As part of the multibillion-dollar overhaul in 2023, Air India placed orders for 470 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus, including 190 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and 10 of the American airline's much-delayed 777X aircraft.
The airline placed an additional order for 100 Airbus planes late last year.
Following a nearly two-month-long, debilitating labor strike last year, Boeing is now recuperating.
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Due to a cap imposed by the US Federal Aviation Administration, the aircraft manufacturer is unable to produce more than 38 737 MAX airplanes per month.