Air India CEO Campbell Wilson has said that the global aircraft shortage hindering airline growth will persist for the next four to five years due to the ongoing production delays by jetmakers Boeing and Airbus.
Speaking at an event hosted by travel news website Skift on Tuesday, Wilson highlighted specific bottlenecks, including a shortage of narrowbody jet engines, business and first-class seats, and crucial components of aircraft fuselages. These supply chain issues are exacerbating the challenges faced by Air India, which is in the midst of an ambitious turnaround plan following Tata Group’s acquisition of the airline two years ago.
Despite the airline’s efforts to modernise and expand its fleet, persistent delivery delays have forced Air India to extend the service life of older jets, resulting in increased maintenance costs and slowing of the pace of its fleet modernisation. Wilson emphasised the significant hurdles posed by these delays, stating, “There is not a lot we can do. We are victims of circumstance, as is every other airline.”
With aircraft capacity limited, Wilson explained that Air India must take tough decisions regarding aircraft deployment to maximise returns. “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 said. “It means you can’t expand to places you would otherwise like to expand.”
The competition among airlines to lease aircraft, coupled with varying configurations available, has also made the leasing process more difficult, further complicating Air India’s growth strategy.
As part of a multi-billion-dollar revamp, Air India placed orders for 470 jets in 2023, including 190 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and 10 of Boeing’s delayed 777X jets. Last year, the airline also placed an additional order for 100 Airbus aircraft. However, Wilson’s remarks on the delivery timelines for the 777X were blunt: “Who knows?” This reflects the uncertainty surrounding the future of the jet, which is seen as the successor to Boeing’s 777, a widely successful long-haul aircraft.
In late 2024, Wilson had also revealed that Air India was holding off on exercising its remaining options to purchase more Boeing jets until the planemaker cleared its backlog. Boeing, which is still recovering from a worker strike that took place last year, has been unable to ramp up production of its 737 MAX aircraft beyond a cap of 38 units per month set by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Boeing is yet to respond to requests for comment.
(With Reuters Inputs)