Flight prices could rise due to aircraft shortages – is aerospace in trouble?

Aircraft shortages could push up flight prices as crisis hits the airline duopoly Boeing and Airbus. But, does that leave room for competition?

Front view of white 777 commercial flight airplane taking off or landing from the Airport runway with no visible markings or livery. Blue sky sunny back drop with some clouds
(Image credit: Craig Hastings)

If you haven’t already booked a summer holiday it would be a good idea to get a move on. Prices are going up all the time. 

Michael O’Leary, the pugnacious boss of Ryanair, has already warned that fares may have to go up by as much as 10% this summer because of the shortage of new aeroplanes to meet all the demand for flights. Air Lease, one of the largest suppliers of aeroplanes to the budget airlines, warned last week that delivery delays from both Boeing and Airbus were likely to persist well into 2025. 

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Matthew Lynn

Matthew Lynn is a columnist for Bloomberg, and writes weekly commentary syndicated in papers such as the Daily Telegraph, Die Welt, the Sydney Morning Herald, the South China Morning Post and the Miami Herald. He is also an associate editor of Spectator Business, and a regular contributor to The Spectator. Before that, he worked for the business section of the Sunday Times for ten years. 

He has written books on finance and financial topics, including Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis and The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031. Matthew is also the author of the Death Force series of military thrillers and the founder of Lume Books, an independent publisher.