After two years of devastation caused by the pandemic, airlines now have a new concern – disruption caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
However, speaking to CNBC, the CEO of Airbus, Guillaume Faury, said he believed an expected surge in travel this summer was still likely. He said he did not believe the conflict would impact internal European markets, though it was likely that Eastern European travel, near Ukraine, could come under pressure.
A CNBC.com report said Faury’s optimism was matched by almost every airline CEO, who had pointed to 2022 as a big year for rebuilding travel lost during the pandemic – at one point transatlantic flights were down more than 75%. Earlier this year it had improved but was still down 36%.
For both leading airliner manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing, Russia’s attack on Ukraine does raise questions about the impact of sanctions on their plans to ramp up aircraft production in 2022. At this point, the sanctions had not affected Russia’s ability to export aluminium, steel and titanium, all of which are crucial in aircraft production.
Faury said Airbus had little exposure to supply chain pressure that may develop in Eastern Europe.
He expects production rates for the A320 and A220 to grow by at least 20% per annum over the coming three years.
