Is there a possibility that my summer vacation flight will cost more or be canceled due to aircraft issues?

Travel bans put in place due to the pandemic began to ease in March 2022. As a result, airlines have faced challenges in meeting the high demand for flights. Additionally, airlines have increased ticket prices to capitalize on the limited number of available seats.

In the summer of 2024, it is anticipated that prices will continue to increase and there will be limited availability for European flights, as there are issues with the two most commonly used aircraft, the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A320 family.

Due to safety worries causing delays in the delivery of Boeing planes and an issue with certain Airbus engines, airlines may face difficulties in meeting their scheduled flights. As a result, ticket prices are expected to increase.

Airlines are now charging higher prices than ever before, trying to regain the billions of dollars lost during the pandemic. The decrease in available seats and increase in demand allows them to make bigger profits. IAG, the parent company of British Airways, has recently reported unprecedented profits.

Will potential flight prices increase and will current reservations potentially be cancelled? These are the main inquiries and responses.

Two large budget airlines in the UK will not have the anticipated number of aircraft in their summer 2024 schedules as originally planned.

Ryanair has revised their expectations for their order of 57 Boeing 737 Max planes, now anticipating only 40 to be delivered by June 2024.

Wizz Air currently has 42 of their Airbus A320 series planes grounded due to necessary inspections on their Pratt & Whitney GTF engines.

According to reports, the Lufthansa Group, which encompasses Eurowings, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Germany’s main airline, has approximately 62 Airbus planes currently not in use.

While British Airways, easyJet, and Jet2 are not facing any issues, the shortage of seats is limiting availability and causing prices to increase for other top airlines.

Unfortunately, Ryanair will not receive 17 of their expected aircraft in time for the summer season. These aircraft would have contributed a total of 20,000 seats per day, which would have amounted to 1.85 million seats over the months of July, August, and September.

The CEO of the airline, Michael O’Leary, stated that they anticipate delivery delays from Boeing that are unfortunately out of Ryanair’s control. These delays, along with the grounding of 20% of Airbus A320 fleets by their competitors, will likely result in limited capacity and slightly increased air fares for European consumers during the summer of 2024.

He has forecasted a potential increase of 10% in prices.

The production increase for delivering 737 Max planes in the US has been delayed due to a January incident where a door plug on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 came loose during take-off from Portland, Oregon.

The plane safely touched down, however, concerns regarding quality-control have prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to require strict monitoring of every new aircraft. The resulting delays in delivery have caused Ryanair to inform investors that their estimated number of passengers through the end of March 2025 will decrease from 205 million to below 200 million.

The Toulouse-based manufacturer is blameless: the problem is that some of its planes are powered by Pratt & Whitney GTF (geared turbofan) engines. The engine maker has identified a potential problem of contamination in the powder metal used for some key components on some power plants.

The engines of the aircraft need to undergo an inspection process, where they are dismantled, examined, and reassembled by trained teams. This process can take up to two months for each engine. Consequently, both Wizz Air and Lufthansa, a German airline, have grounded over 100 planes collectively.

Ryanair has already put into effect reductions in flight schedules at Dublin, Milan Malpensa, Warsaw Modlin, and four Portuguese airports. The airline states that all impacted travelers have been notified of the changes and have been given the option to choose alternate flight times or a full refund.

According to a representative from Wizz Air, the airline has not reduced any of its routes in the UK because of the Pratt & Whitney inspections and does not anticipate any additional alterations to UK routes for the rest of the summer.

Wizz Air has made changes to their flight schedule for the summer, including cancelling routes like the one from London Luton to Dubrovnik and Nice. Some other flights are also being rearranged: I had booked a flight with Wizz Air to Sarajevo in April, but it has been cancelled and I was offered an alternative flight two days later. A spokesperson for the airline stated, “The cancellation of the London Luton to Dubrovnik route happened before the Pratt and Whitney groundings began. The decision to drop the route to Nice was due to higher demand for other routes.”

In the case of any future adjustments, regulations for air passengers’ rights in Europe will support you. According to the UK Civil Aviation Authority, airlines that cancel flights are obligated to find a way to get you to your intended destination on the same day, even if it requires purchasing a ticket with a different airline.

If the airline refuses to make a reservation for you with a competitor, you have the option to do it yourself – however, make sure to keep the original airline informed of your actions.

It may be worth committing to despite the inconvenience of expensive prices. With a scarce supply of airplanes globally, it is challenging to identify potential sources of significant new capacity.

Some airlines, such as BA and Lufthansa, may reassign certain long-haul aircraft to fly within Europe due to increased demand.

There have been instances where big, long-distance airplanes have been strategically used for shorter European trips, such as when Iberia and Finnair utilized them on routes that include London Heathrow.

In most cases, airlines earn significantly higher profits from international flights compared to flights within Europe. This means that they are unlikely to transfer valuable resources to address any deficiencies.

In the upcoming months of summer, the level of supply is expected to align more closely with the level of demand. Ryanair announced that they will collaborate with Boeing to receive aircraft deliveries in July, August, and September of 2024, which are considered the busiest months.

There may be more flights available in August and September. If you intend to travel in the middle of September, it’s best to wait.

In the end, certain aircrafts may remain in operation for a longer period of time than originally intended.

Listen to Simon Calder’s podcast on the problems affecting some operators of Airbus and Boeing aircraft

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