The Wall Street Journal reported the value of 10-year-old planes, particularly the Airbus A320-200, has surged by 10% since August, recovering from the pandemic. This increase is attributed to problems with the newer A320neo model due to engine issues. Pratt & Whitney found contaminants in the engines, affecting around 40% of the A320neo fleet, potentially grounding hundreds of planes until 2026. Older aircraft models like the Airbus A330-300 and Boeing 777-300ER have also seen increased value. This trend suggests that investors are favoring older aircraft, which appear more reliable and insulated from manufacturing problems affecting newer planes.
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Tag: Increases
Boeing Increases 787 Dreamliner Production
Reuters (5/30) reports that The Boeing Company has increased production of its 787 Dreamliner up to four planes per month from three as it prepares to ramp up to five per month by the end of 2023, as well as add a second production line at the company’s South Carolina facilities to help complete work this year on inventory 787s that are being modified to meet the standards of the Federal Aviation Administration.
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Labor Cost Increases See Airline Margins Fall
Aviation International News reported that labor costs have steadily increased for US airlines since air travel has started to come back, tracing the increase back to mid-2021. Moody’s Investors Service said that it “sees aggregate labor expense for the eight U.S. airlines it rates increasing by 19 percent in 2023 and another 8 percent in 2024, as the low U.S. unemployment rate continues to create staffing and labor cost headwinds – as will the mandatory retirement age of 65 for pilots if Congress does not pass legislation to raise the limit to age 67.” Moody’s says that while combined revenue for the eight largest US airlines should reach $212 billion this year (a 13% increase from 2022), “capacity shortfalls brought on by shortages of aircraft, spare parts, maintenance capacity, and labor will help support ticket prices well into 2024, even if a recession takes hold and slows demand, said the report’s author, Moody’s Investors Service senior v-p Jonathan Root.”
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Boeing Increases Aviation Personnel Demand Forecast
Aviation International News reports that The Boeing Company’s 2022 Pilot and Technician Outlook “sees a need for 2.1 million personnel to meet the demand for commercial air travel, including 602,000 pilots, 610,000 maintenance technicians, and 899,000 cabin crewmembers.” Boeing “further projected a doubling of the commercial fleet, reaching 47,080 aircraft by 2041.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)
French Navy Receives its First Airbus H160 Helicopter
Aviation Week reports that the “French Navy has taken delivery of its first Airbus H160 helicopter, an interim buy that is expected to pave the way for a much larger fleet of military-configured aircraft by the end of the decade.”
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Business Jet Prices Increase
Aviation International News reports that the estimated valuation of preowned business jets “is up 4 percent from February 2021.” The aircraft valuation “is based on average selling price adjusted for typical premiums and/or discounts, age of aircraft, upgrades, engine plans, and usage, providing an estimate for what the sales price of an aircraft should be.” Asking prices are “up 13 percent over the average fleet valuation.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)
Airbus Increases H160 Production
Aviation International News reports that the Airbus Helicopters H160 is to enter serial-production seven years “after its unveiling.” Airbus Helicopters saw “firm orders for 52 H160s last year and handed over the first one to Japan’s All Nippon Helicopter in December.” The H160 “was headed to the U.S. ahead of its long-awaited certification by the FAA and route proving flights with U.S. launch customer PHI.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)