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The knock-on effects of Boeing’s strike-related inactivity are adding to already challenging fleet-planning and aftermarket support environments, AerCap CEO Aengus Kelly says.
Speaking on his company’s third-quarter earnings call, Kelly underscored that the production and delivery slowdowns due to the International Association of Machinists strike, while problematic, are only part of the new problems facing Boeing customers.
“There is a lot of stuff that you don’t see unless you’re really in the business of what is happening in the supply chain and the aftermarket,” Kelly said. “Boeing itself is a huge distributor of parts. Boeing itself provides specific approvals and guidance for repairs to aircraft, for reconfiguring aircraft that can’t be done without their involvement.”
Kelly’s words echo those of other aftermarket providers that rely on Boeing daily for engineering support. But given his role as head of the world’s largest Airbus and Boeing customer—lessor AerCap manages a fleet of more than 1,700 aircraft and has 400 more on order—Kelly’s spotlighting of post-delivery issues underscores their gravity.
On the delivery front, AerCap said it has pushed more than 20 expected deliveries into 2026 from 2025, including more than 15 Airbus A320neo-family aircraft.
“As we have said in the past, this is not just one manufacturer’s issue,” he said.
Airlines continue to respond by locking up older assets to ensure they have the capacity they expect to need in the latter half of the decade. The persistent supply-chain problems mean fewer short-term extensions and more asset-controlling purchases.
“What are our customers doing on a global basis with older assets? Are they handing them back? No, hardly ever,” Kelly said. “What they’re doing is buying them, so they have control of their capacity for years to come.
“If [airlines] thought this was a short-lived issue of a couple of years ... they would be asking for lease extensions of a short-term nature,” he explained. “But they’re our biggest buyer of assets and have been for some time. Further, our extension rates are at 90%.”
Most of the extensions are longer-term, Kelly said—a sign that operators do not think supply-chain issues will ease soon.
“[They] subscribe to our view of the world that this is a prolonged issue,” he said.
While new aircraft linger in delivery queues, maintenance shops are overflowing as demand to maintain older assets continues to be strong while problems with some current-generation platforms necessitate unexpected shop visits.
“It’s all about the amount of time that these new assets are spending in the repair shop,” Kelly said. “Turn times on engines are longer, time on wing of [new] engines is shorter. That is one example. The same is true of other aspects of these aircraft, be it auxiliary power units, avionics—things take longer in the shop to come back ... which means the demand for used aircraft will continue to increase.”
Some suggest having another mainline aircraft manufacturer to challenge the Airbus-Boeing duopoly would help pressure the incumbents to improve performance and, eventually, their product lines.
Kelly is not among them.
“I don’t want a third manufacturer,” he said. “We have enough problems with two of them. I don’t think three will make it any better.”
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