Delays in delivering new aircraft, replacement engines and spare parts could continue for the rest of the decade, constraining capacity and leading to cancelled flights, Iata director general Willie Walsh has warned.
Walsh hit out at aircraft manufacturers insisting airlines “have no confidence of getting the aircraft or parts they’ve ordered” and said: “There is no evidence it’s getting better. A lot of people are saying they don’t see it getting better before the end of the decade.”
He said Iata was considering filing anti-competitive behaviour actions against “quasi monopoly” suppliers, arguing: “The situation is unacceptable.
“We’ve piled pressure on the manufacturers to solve these issues. [But] we’re not seeing enough effort put in.”
“Is it in suppliers’ interests to maintain these problems? We’ve had enough. There is no evidence they’re sorting it out. We need to force them to address the problems. We’ll look at whether there is anti-competitive behaviour by key players.”
Walsh argued: “Aircraft are spending far too long on the ground. Airlines are using aircraft they don’t want to operate [and] paying way too much to lease aircraft.
“We estimate around 700 aircraft are grounded, and getting to 1,000 is not unrealistic. Had I been running an airline, my patience would have run out a long time ago.”
The latest, most-fuel efficient engines on both Airbus and Boeing aircraft are experiencing maintenance issues, while both manufacturers have struggled to meet new aircraft orders, with Boeing suffering especial delays following the mid-air blow out of a cabin-door plug last January.
Walsh said: “We see more and more problems with all engine types. The durability of the newer engines is nowhere what we’re used to.
“You would normally expect technology to take time to mature. [But] there is a question whether they [the manufacturers] stretched the technology of the engines.
“We’re going to have to recalibrate the time between maintenance checks.”
He added: “I suspect the engine manufacturers won’t be willing to ramp up production to match a ramp up in air frame production.”
Walsh suggested the manufacturers “are happy with the interruption to supply” as it increased the price of engines.
But he insisted: “It’s not just engines, everything is being delayed. It’s across the supply chain. Boeing and Airbus are not getting on top of it. No one has confidence this will be resolved.”