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Yomiuri Shimbun
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Trade Barriers, Plane Delivery Delays Challenge Global Airline Growth
Reuters file photo A general view of the new livery of the Air India Airbus A350 aeroplane, displayed at Wings India 2024 aviation event at Begumpet airport, Hyderabad, India, January 18, 2024. NEW DELHI, June 2 (Reuters) – The head of a global airlines industry body said on Monday that growing trade barriers risked damaging the economy and the air travel sector, and 'unacceptable' plane delivery delays were frustrating growth plans at a time of record passenger numbers. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) shaved a key forecast for 2025 industry-wide profits, blaming trade tensions and declining consumer confidence. 'Like all forms of connectivity, flying makes the world more prosperous,' IATA Director General Willie Walsh said at the group's annual meeting in New Delhi. 'That stands in contrast to isolationism, trade barriers and the fragmentation of the multilateral rules-based system. These destroy wealth and lower living standards. For the times we live in, this is an important message,' he said. Sweeping tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump have stoked fears of an economic slowdown and squeezed discretionary spending, prompting many consumers especially in the United States to delay or scale back travel plans. They also threaten a decades-old pact between more than 30 countries to eliminate duties on aircraft and their parts. While Walsh said there was no indication aircraft prices had increased due to tariffs, he said airlines would resist any attempt by aerospace manufacturers to raise prices and called for governments to 'keep aerospace out of trade wars.' IATA represents some 300 airlines accounting for more than 80% of global traffic. On environmental sustainability, Walsh said progress was not what it should be at this point in time. He criticized energy firms for not producing enough sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which is made from waste oil and biomass and costs more than conventional jet fuel. IATA has increasingly been warning that airlines will struggle to meet their sustainability goals, but Walsh said the aviation industry was still aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050 based mainly on a gradual switch to SAF. DELIVERY DELAYS More people are flying than ever before after a post-pandemic passenger market recovery, but airline growth is being hampered by extended plane delivery delays and supply chain bottlenecks driving up maintenance and repair time. Walsh called predictions of aircraft delivery delays throughout this decade 'off-the-chart unacceptable.' He said the airline industry was evaluating legal options over the delays, but it preferred to work with manufacturers collaboratively. 'The manufacturing sector is failing badly,' he said. IATA said the number of deliveries scheduled for 2025 was 26% less than what was promised a year ago, although at 1,692 this would be the highest number of new planes since 2018. 'Further downward revisions are likely, given that supply chain issues are expected to persist in 2025 and possibly to the end of the decade,' IATA said in the update to its industry outlook. Tim Clark, president of the world's largest international airline, Dubai's Emirates, said on Sunday that the pandemic was no longer an acceptable excuse for delivery delays and challenged planemakers to take responsibility. Similar frustration was voiced by Saudi budget carrier flyadeal. 'Delays are becoming inexcusable. Transparency, to be frank, is lacking, and we're getting agitated. How else can we plan? I mean it is just going beyond a joke now,' flyadeal CEO Steven Greenway told Reuters. U.S. planemaker Boeing BA.N is trying to stabilize and ramp up production after a quality crisis and a labor strike slowed output last year. Last week, sources told Reuters that Europe's Airbus has been warning airlines it faces another three years of delivery delays. Despite the challenges, carriers are still looking to purchase more planes to ensure they can meet future travel demand. Tata Group's Air India is in talks with Airbus and Boeing for a major new aircraft order including some 200 extra single-aisle planes, topping up a mammoth deal in 2023 as the former state carrier pursues a multi-billion-dollar revamp, Reuters reported on Sunday.
The Star
02-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Air India CEO says Pakistan airspace ban adding to flying costs
FILE PHOTO: A general view of the new livery of the Air India Airbus A350 aeroplane, displayed at Wings India 2024 aviation event at Begumpet airport, Hyderabad, India, January 18, 2024. - Reuters NEW DELHI: The continuing ban for Indian airlines in using Pakistani airspace is adding flying hours for non-stop flights and will weigh down Air India Ltd.'s path to profitability, its top executive said in an interview. "The impact is significant but we have been able to sustain non-stop operations' to most destinations in North America and Europe, Air India Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson said in a Bloomberg TV interview Monday (June 2). "It'll certainly hit our bottomline.' The airspace curbs have increased flying time for west-bound flights from India by an hour or so, according to Wilson, who declined to give details on the discussions the Tata Group-owned carrier was having with stakeholders on this front. The armed conflict between India and Pakistan that erupted May 7 was the worst between the nuclear-armed neighbours in decades, with both sides trading drone and missile strikes besides artillery and small arms fire along their shared border. It was triggered by a gruesome attack on civilians in Indian-controlled Kashmir on April 22. While a ceasefire was announced on May 10, Pakistan has extended the airspace ban for Indian airlines until June 24. Geopolitical strife has been complicating flying routes and business models for airlines globally in the past few years as they skirt conflict zones. Tariffs are also now a closely watched development for the sector. "We want certainty. Uncertainty is difficult when you are making investment decisions,' Wilson said, adding that this was a common theme at the ongoing aviation industry event in New Delhi. So far, Air India sees no impact of tariffs on travel flows for its geography and markets. The recent showdown between the US President Donald Trump and Harvard University has added another layer of complication for international fliers especially those looking to study in American institutions. Pointing to anecdotal stories, Wilson said that there seems to be some shift in the large student population from India that usually vies to be on US campuses. "You hear people thinking of alternatives,' he said. "Obviously, it's a relatively new development, so people are still digesting it but it does seem that people are more willing to look at alternative locations than perhaps they were before.' Wilson, who steered the massive merger of Tata-owned carriers Air India and Vistara last year, declined to comment on media stories on the airline's discussions with plane makers to buy more narrowbody jets. Air India, the unprofitable carrier which the Tata conglomerate acquired from the Indian government in 2021, will start receiving new planes it had ordered toward the end of this year, according to Wilson. The deliveries are "later than we hoped, slower than we hoped,' he said. "It is constraining our ambitions a little bit in the short term but the long term opportunity for this market is massive, so we are very, very confident.' - Bloomberg
South China Morning Post
07-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Shorter layovers, new lounges, better jets: Air India's revival takes flight
Air India long languished under government ownership while cash-rich Middle Eastern rivals siphoned off travellers. Now the airline is trying to even the score with cheaper fares, fresh cabins and lounges as well as shorter layover times. Advertisement The multi-year turnaround programme will initially focus on the airline's 27 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners that are more than 10 years old in some cases, with Air India seeking to complete a refit in early 2027. A second stage, involving older Boeing 777 wide-bodies, will start late next year, though that step is proving more complex because of issues with seat suppliers, according to Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson. 'Consistency makes an airline good,' Wilson said in an interview. 'There should be a consistency in product quality, crew service, punctuality, and experience at airports and in aircraft. We are working on all of those.' The interior of an Air India Airbus A350 plane, as displayed at the Wings India 2024 aviation event in Hyderabad last year. Photo: Reuters The Indian travel market offers huge untapped potential for local and foreign carriers, with a new middle class on the move and the government upgrading infrastructure including airports. Air India has sought to tap into that boom, placing a massive order two years ago for new aircraft with Airbus and Boeing to upgrade its fleet. The new lounges, faster connection timings and more skilled ground employees are other elements that seek to improve both the airline's profitability and the passenger experience at its hubs in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru and put the carrier back on the global map. A storied airline with close to a century of operation history, Air India has been brought under new ownership led by the Tata Group, which was among the aviation pioneers in the country. Upon taking over, the late Ratan Tata acknowledged in a statement in late 2021 that 'admittedly it will take considerable effort to rebuild Air India', adding there was an opportunity to 'regaining the image and reputation enjoyed in earlier years'. These things can't be turned around overnight Air India CEO Campbell Wilson Among the upgrades targeted by Wilson are better connection timings. For example, on a flight between Australia and Europe, a stopover in India has been reduced to 180 minutes, compared with as long as 10 hours previously. That, in turn, had helped Air India lift the percentage of transit passengers to a high single digit from practically nothing previously, he said.
