The airline industry is set to lose more than $11 billion (A$16 billion) in 2025 due to slow production, according to a report from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and consulting firm Oliver Wyman.
The lagging supply chain is driven by four main factors, said the report, including excess fuel costs, additional maintenance costs, increased engine leasing costs and surplus inventory holding costs.
Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, pointed out that airlines depend on a reliable supply chain to operate and expand their fleets, but now, there are “unprecedented” wait times for aircraft, engines, parts and unpredictable delivery schedules.
Walsh made a number of suggestions that could turn production around.
“To start, opening the aftermarket would help by giving airlines greater choice and access to parts and services,” he said.
“In parallel, greater transparency on the state of the supply chain would give airlines the data they need to plan around blockages while helping OEMs to ease underlying bottlenecks,” he added.
Other potential initiatives include expanding repair and parts capacity to accelerate repair approvals, leveraging predictive maintenance insights, pooling spare parts and creating shared maintenance data platforms to boost inventory.
