Widebodies finally join the global airline recovery

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Nearly three years following the onset of the COVID pandemic, widebody aircraft are finally catching up to the narrowbody recovery. A recent influx of international flying across the Atlantic in summer 2022, followed by a long-awaited opening of markets in Southeast Asia, has brought many twin-aisle aircraft back to the skies.

At the same time, however, an early return for regional aircraft has turned into a consistent slide through 2022. With the bulk of the regional fleet operating in the large networks of the United States – the country experiencing a self-inflicted and increasingly acute pilot shortage. The result for 2022 is a concerted shift to large aircraft around the world.

Related: Aerospace settles into persistent single-aisle feast and twin-aisle famine

For a global fleet of commercial aircraft, the recovery is still not affecting all fleet types equally. This TAC Analysis dives into the fleet types finding renewed flying in the last leg of 2022 and those that find themselves on the retreat.

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