Air India CEO sees aircraft shortage lasting at least four years

A global shortage of aircraft amid production delays by jetmakers Airbus and Boeing may continue to hinder airline growth for at least the next four years, Air India chief executive offer (CEO) Campbell Wilson said on Tuesday.

Speaking at an event in Delhi, Wilson said key pain points for airlines include a shortage of narrowbody jet engines, business and first-class seats, and key components of aircraft fuselages.

Supply chain issues are worsening the challenges faced by Air India, which is in the middle of an ambitious turnaround plan following the Tata group’s acquisition of the airline two years ago.

Meanwhile, taking a contrarian view, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers said he was not concerned about delays in delivery of planes by Airbus.

Speaking at the same event, Elbers said IndiGo accounted for one in every 12 or 13 planes produced by Airbus, and that even with supply issues, the airline took 58 deliveries.

IndiGo, whose fleet has more than 400 planes, is taking the wide-body Boeing 787 aircraft on damp lease and is set to start flights from India to Amsterdam and Manchester later this year.

The airline has more than 900 planes on order, and expects to take delivery of long-range A321 XLR planes this year and wide-body A350 aircraft in 2027.

While Wilson said competition among airlines to lease aircraft and the different configurations make leasing aircraft challenging, Elbers said the enormous size of the IndiGo order book gives him confidence that his airline is well-positioned to deal with these fluctuations.

Following its takeover by Tata two years ago, Air India is adopting a turnaround strategy.

“There is not much we can do. We are victims of circumstance, as is every airline, he said, adding that in such scenarios, airlines must be a little more ‘ruthless’ in deploying aircraft to maximize the return.

Following its takeover in 2023, Air India ordered 470 jets from Airbus and Boeing, including 777x aircraft and 190 Boeing 737 Max jets. In 2024, it ordered 100 more Airbus aircraft.