“Summer 2022 Travel Was a Totally Shitty Show, If Not a Totally Shitty Show,” before detailing all the ways that the upcoming summer will probably be the worst too.April 2023 This is what I actually wrote on the 20th. (And it was the worst.)
Today, almost a year later, I'm back with pretty much the same thing. Reuters reports that summer travel is expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels, barring the fact that aircraft deliveries are “reduced” due to “production issues” at Boeing and Airbus. Well, this is good enough. That means there aren't enough planes available to accommodate the impending number of travelers. Saw this movie, roll credit.
Martha Neubauer, senior associate at Aerodynamic Advisory, told Reuters: “Due to production issues at Boeing and Airbus, passenger airlines will accept 19% fewer aircraft this year than expected.” Ta. Additionally, U.S. carriers will receive even less…32% to be exact. All of this is outside of the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) forecast late last year that global airline capacity would increase by 9% annually in 2024.
For the uninitiated, this is mainly due to the following reasons: that The Alaska Airlines accident, in which a panel exploded mid-flight, halted production of Boeing's 737 MAX, an aircraft that many major airlines rely on. So while there are some workarounds (expensive repairs to older models, leasing, etc.), some airlines, such as United Airlines and Southwest Airlines, still have to reduce their summer flight schedules.
To that end, all signs seem to point to yet another summer travel show. This time last year, several U.S. airlines were cutting service to the New York metropolitan area, citing a shortage of air traffic controllers, flight attendants, pilots, ground staff and airport food servers. Now that workers have been secured, there is a shortage of planes.
That being said, if I can glean any good news here, it's that we're used to it. We know that we should book sooner rather than later, expect to pay a premium, and be prepared for disappointment when everything doesn't always work out.
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