Alaska Airlines is launching two new routes from its West Coast hubs and bringing back another it tried out last summer — but full time.
09.04.2024 - 14:11 / insider.com / Willie Walsh / Dave Calhoun / Airlines
You can expect to pay more for plane tickets this summer, as airline capacity struggles to keep up with demand.
In December 2023, the International Air Travel Association predicted 2024 would break records for the most air passengers ever. It expects 4.7 billion people to travel this year — 200 million more than the pre-pandemic high set in 2019.
But airlines are warning they'll have fewer seats available than they initially thought, as both Boeing and Airbus are dealing with problems.
IATA had predicted a 9% growth in capacity. But passenger airlines will see 19% fewer aircraft than expected this year, Martha Neubauer, a senior associate at AeroDynamic Advisor, told Reuters.
Southwest Airlines has paused hiring because it now expects to receive 46 new Boeing 737 Max jets, down from 79.
Related stories
And the CEO of Europe's biggest budget airline, Ryanair, warned its ticket prices could go up 10% due to Boeing delivery delays.
Additionally, United has asked pilots to take an unpaid leave in May to help mitigate delayed deliveries of Boeing planes.
Boeing has had a bad year as the Alaska Airlines blowout in January sparked increased scrutiny from regulators. The Federal Aviation Administration has limited how many 737 Max jets it can manufacture.
And since CEO Dave Calhoun announced he would resign at the end of the year, Boeing's new chairman is trying to win back customers' trust.
While Boeing has been under the spotlight, Airbus also has some problems of its own.
A flaw in the Pratt & Whitney engines used on Airbus A320neos will ground 650 jets for inspections in the first half of this year.
IATA also predicted that airline profits would be up 10% from last year. But the trade group's director general, Willie Walsh, said the average airline only makes $5.45 for every passenger.
"That's about enough to buy a basic grande latte at a London Starbucks," he added. "But it is far too little to build a future that is resilient to shocks for a critical global industry."
Alaska Airlines is launching two new routes from its West Coast hubs and bringing back another it tried out last summer — but full time.
The ongoing Boeing 737 Max 9 fallout is continuing to burn airlines.
Call it a comeback, perhaps.
U.S. airlines had been looking forward to a strong summer. Holding them back: safety issues at Boeing and supply chain challenges at Airbus that are delaying deliveries of new planes.
Skytrax has released its annual ranking of the world's best airports — and if you're a frequent flyer it may come as little surprise that none in the US made the top 20.
Senators are calling for a broader investigation into Boeing’s safety and manufacturing practices after a whistleblower alleged issues with the structural integrity of the 787 Dreamliner and 777.
Boeing was back in the spotlight on Wednesday as the subject of two Senate hearings focused on alleged safety lapses at the plane-maker.
After Scott Kirby, the CEO of United Airlines, hinted the carrier would reconsider its Boeing 737 Max 10 on order earlier this year, the airline has now confirmed that it will adjust its fleet strategy.
United Airlines would have turned a profit in the first quarter of 2024 had it not been for a door plug blowing off an Alaska Airlines jet mid-flight in January.
It's a big moment for Hawaiian Airlines.
Travelers who live on the West Coast of the United States have long bemoaned the lack of direct flights to the Caribbean from international airports in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle. Normally, flying to the Caribbean from the West Coast requires stopovers and plane changes in hubs like Atlanta, New York, Houston, or Miami. Between the time difference and the layovers, flying from the West Coast to the Caribbean can easily take at least a full day—or may even require an overnight stop. With closer warm-weather destinations like Mexico and Hawai‘i beckoning, many travelers in the Pacific time zone simply skip the Caribbean.
An engineer at Boeing claimed the plane maker dismissed repeated concerns about the quality control of the 787 Dreamliner and 777, some of the most used widebodies in the airline industry.