Boeing and Airbus face 'unprecedented' certification and delivery delays, airlines warn

[Boeing 737 of KLM landing at Schiphol Amsterdam Airport]
Sjo

Europe’s largest airlines say ongoing certification and delivery delays at Boeing (NYSE:BA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BA]) and Airbus (OTCPK:EADSF [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/EADSF]) (OTCPK:EADSY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/EADSY]) have reached unprecedented levels, disrupting fleet expansion plans and slowing the industry’s push toward lower-emission flying.

Speaking at an Airlines for Europe online briefing Tuesday, Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith said aircraft makers and suppliers remain months -- in some cases, years -- behind schedule, with little sign of improvement since the pandemic, Bloomberg News reported.

The world’s two major plane manufacturers have struggled to recover from post-COVID supply-chain disruptions, leaving carriers like Lufthansa and British Airways parent IAG waiting for long-promised widebody models. Boeing’s (NYSE:BA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BA]) 777X, initially expected to enter service in 2021, is now forecast to debut in early 2027, according to recent reports, a delay of roughly six years.

The situation has been compounded by the U.S. government shutdown, which has paused regulatory inspections. Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said the lapse has held up certification for new seat designs on the airline’s Boeing 787 fleet and even affected coordination with its U.S. partner carriers.

Despite the headwinds, executives struck a slightly more positive tone on the short-haul front. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said Boeing (BA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BA]) has made “significant progress” increasing output of its 737 Max narrowbody jets, though deliveries remain behind schedule.

Overall, airline leaders cautioned that while travel demand remains robust, the ongoing manufacturing and certification bottlenecks continue to limit capacity growth and complicate efforts to modernize fleets with more fuel-efficient aircraft.

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