A backlog with available delivery slots is both a curse and a blessing, And that’s how Allegiant Air picked its horse.
Today, the same intuition that initially drove the networks to preserve breadth – the points on route maps – through flying smaller aircraft has shown a recent shift away from the regional aircraft. The recent new trend signals a potential change for the regional aircraft industry, and for the small communities that rely on a connection to the world’s aviation system.
Beyond labor shortages, constrained maintenance capacity, and a still-significant portion of the world’s fleet parked, a previously unthinkable challenge faces the industry as the global economy marches on. We may not have enough airplanes.
TAC Analysis details its 2022 forecast in two parts, continuing with the obstacles and opportunities facing airlines heading into the new year. The United States traffic doubled in 2021, rebounding as passengers continue to return to the skies, but the remaining recovery will be paced by the airlines’ ability to accept it. Touching 89% of 2019 levels on Thanksgiving weekend, we expect the recovery to stall, ending 2022 still below 100%.
A pilot shortage is shaping the debate over single-pilot cockpits, while Airbus CEO grabs aviation’s third rail with both hands.
TAC Analysis details its 2022 forecast in two parts, beginning with an examination of how 2021 unfolded. Domestic U.S. load factors returned to 2019 levels during the summer season, filling the available capacity to the brim. As demand continues to return without sufficient capacity to keep pace, fares have already returned to 2019 levels, a trend expected to continue in 2022.
In this TAC Analysis, we revisit the potential re-arrival of a pilot shortage, and how it may quickly become the limiting factor in the recovery. Crucially, while regional airlines were a welcome source of strength during the COVID pandemic, the lack of pilots in the United States could quickly turn the strongest regional jet market on its head. At play are both the near-term effects of staffing flight decks affecting the world, as well as the long-term challenges unique to the United States -- where pilot supply issues have already exposed an acute operational strain on the system.
There’s no one definition of a regional airline and that shows in the pandemic’s rebound. TAC Analysis continues its exploration of which types of regional airlines are excelling in the pandemic era, which are struggling, and what this means for the various aircraft types operating at each.
GE Aviation and Safran laid out their post-pandemic strategy, a broad technology development plan called RISE aimed at low-emission propulsion for commercial aviation in the 2030s. In a ceremony befitting the cinematic legacy of Southern California, eVTOL entrant Archer unveiled its Maker technology demonstrator. The well-funded start up is part of an industry gold rush that looks a lot like aerial entrepreneurs of the 1920s. Your humble correspondent returned to flying again after 470 days on the ground. But who's counting?
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De Havilland Canada's time building the Dash 8-400 turboprop in Downsview is coming to an end as the company plans to indefinitely pause production, but is leaving the door wide open to start again to begin a new for a post-COVID-19 rebound in demand. The fourth rock from the sun is slated to become the solar system's second planet to host a powered flight. Perseverance and Ingenuity arrive on Mars on February 18. As single-aisle jets like the Airbus A321XLR take on roles once assigned for long-range twins, the more narrow cabin is going to be a battleground for increasingly complex passenger systems in the fight against commodification.
Log-in here if you’re already a subscriber Release DateJanuary 14, 2021Alaska maps its 2020s with Boeing and leaves Virgin strategy...