Boeing delays are wreaking havoc with the airline industry’s plans, and flyers may well feel the pain

• Several airlines have criticized Boeing for delivery delays.
• Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said the airline would likely cut traffic expectations for next year.
• The delays could mean fewer routes for passengers, and flying on older planes.

Boeing is facing fresh criticism from airlines as it struggles to deliver planes on time.

Delayed deliveries have upended airlines’ operational plans, by both limiting growth and causing them to fly older planes for longer than planned.

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary told Reuters Wednesday that the airline is likely to cut its traffic growth expectations for next year as it predicts delivery delays. This could also mean fewer destinations and flight options available to travelers.

The Irish budget airline, Europe’s largest carrier by passenger numbers, only operates Boeing 737 jets.

“The big issue for Ryanair is we’re due 30 aircraft in March, April, May, and June of next year, and how many of those will we get?” O’Leary told Reuters.

Also on Wednesday, at an Irish think tank event, the head of the world’s foremost airline trade group spoke out about delivery delays.

“It’s massively frustrating for airline CEOs and it’s having a big impact,” said Willie Walsh, the director general of the International Air Transport Association, per The Guardian.

The Guardian reported Walsh was also referencing delays at Airbus. Supply chain constraints on labor and raw materials have affected the whole industry. Boeing has also contended with a strike for the past month. Increased regulatory scrutiny in the wake of January’s Alaska Airlines blowout has also had an impact.

Last Friday, Boeing announced further delays to its 777X jet, with its first delivery pushed from 2025 to 2026. It had initially targeted a TK launch.

The 777X is set to become the largest twin-engine jet and is more fuel-efficient than older planes.

Sir Tim Clark, the president of Emirates, the largest 777X customer, slammed Boeing for the program’s latest delay.

“Emirates has had to make significant and highly expensive amendments to our fleet programs as a result of Boeing’s multiple contractual shortfalls and we will be having a serious conversation with them over the next couple of months,” he said in a Monday statement shared with Business Insider.

With over 200 777X jets on order, Emirates’ future is largely reliant on the jet to modernize its aging fleet.

“I’ve never seen anything like it in our industry, to be honest. I have been around 30 years,” Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said at the Airlines for Europe conference, the Financial Times reported.

Spohr added that Lufthansa needs the new 777X jet because it has “hardly any old 777s,” per the FT.

Postponing the new jet could mean higher ticket prices for passengers as airlines may have fewer aircraft available and need to spend more on fuel to run older planes.

Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by BI.