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Long-haul wide-body jet production stuck at half pre-COVID

levels

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Shortage has allowed airlines to raise prices

DUBLIN, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Airlines face a shortage of

the industry's large long-haul jets into the next decade,

aircraft leasing company Avolon said on Friday.

Avolon, one of the three Irish ‌leasing companies that

together own and lease out about a sixth of the world's

passenger aircraft, said in ​its annual outlook report that the

shortage of narrow-body jets was slightly less ‍acute but would

also last until the end of ⁠the decade.

"We're forecasting the ⁠narrow-body market to be

undersupplied through the end of the decade, into the 2030s and

perhaps a ‌longer period of time for the ​wide-body market,"

Avolon Chief Risk Officer Jim Morrison said ahead of a major

gathering of aviation financiers in Dublin next week.

WIDE-BODY DELIVERIES ⁠ARE HALF PRE-COVID LEVELS

About 4,000 fewer ‍jets than ​planned will be built this

decade because of the COVID-19 pandemic and other production

disruptions, Avolon estimates.

The delivery of 1,183 narrow-body jets last year ‍was just

short of the pre-COVID peak, but the 174 wide-body aircraft

deliveries were about half of pre-pandemic levels, according to

Cirium data cited by Avolon.

"The structural undersupply of wide-bodies will last longer

than the market anticipates and will be felt more acutely as

international markets continue to drive traffic growth,"

Avolon's report ​said, ‍referring to non-U.S. markets.

While China has driven demand in recent years, the key

markets for aircraft in the coming years will be ​India, the

United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, the report said.

The shortage has constrained airline capacity, allowing

carriers to raise fares, and also led to bottlenecks in engine

repairs and left hundreds of planes grounded waiting for

maintenance.

A fourth consecutive year of profitability, boosted by lower

fuel prices, is set to put the industry in a good position to

weather ​heightened global uncertainty and recession risk, the

report said.

"If there was a period of lower economic growth, for

whatever reason, we actually believe the industry is well

positioned to withstand that," said ‍Avolon CEO Andy Cronin.