Summer travel demand is soaring — but European airlines are short on planes

Airlines are facing an uphill battle during peak travel season as delivery delays at Boeing and Airbus fuel a commercial jet shortage.

The ongoing capacity issue remains a cause of concern for the industry even as many appear upbeat on the demand outlook.

“Demand looks good for the summer,” EasyJet CEO Kenton Jarvis told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Thursday.

“As you said, our book position for both our third quarter, which ends in June, and our fourth quarter, which ends in September, are ahead of where they were this time last year. We’re also seeing very positive bookings in our holidays position.”

His comments come shortly after the British low-cost carrier reported a pre-tax loss of £394 million ($529 million) for the six months through to the end of March, compared with a £350 million loss for the same period in 2024.

EasyJet said current bookings indicate it will meet expectations for full-year profit, although investors appeared to be disappointed by the results. Shares of the company were trading down 4% at around 1 p.m. London time.

Looking ahead, EasyJet’s Jarvis singled out airline deliveries as one of the firm’s key challenges.

“The main capacity constraints are around airline deliveries, with both Airbus and Boeing not meeting their original delivery schedules and therefore all airlines receiving their aircraft later. And that’s why we only see kind of [a] 1%, 2%, 3% increase in capacity this summer,” Jarvis said.

“We can see that there is more demand in the market and yet the supply from the airlines will be more modest this year,” he added.

Data published last month by the European Travel Commission (ETC) found that despite a modest decline in overall travel intention this summer, European travelers are planning longer stays and higher budget vacations.

Poland (80%), Britain (79%), the Netherlands (75%) and Spain (75%) were among the countries where travel intention was found to be strongest, the ETC said.

ETC President Miguel Sanz said at the time that the ETC’s findings reaffirmed the resilience of travel demand in Europe.

“Despite ongoing global uncertainties, Europeans continue to prioritise meaningful travel experiences. Their robust confidence—reflected in longer stays, increased spending, and a willingness to explore further—signals a strong desire to reconnect with destinations and cultures across the continent,” Sanz said.

Aviation experts told CNBC at the start of the year that delivery delays at Boeing and supply chain problems were likely to take years to resolve.

Boeing, which has been beset by a series of crises and production problems in recent years, said last week that it had delivered 45 commercial jets in April, nearly twice as many it delivered during the same month a year ago. The upswing in deliveries takes place as the U.S. planemaker scrambles to stabilize production.

European rival Airbus, meanwhile, said it had delivered 56 jets last month, down 8% from the same period a year earlier.

Aviation analytics firm Cirium said last month that first-quarter delivery totals for Boeing and Airbus suggested that both companies were likely to face “significant challenges” if they were to achieve their respective 2025 targets.

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said there were some early signs of improvement regarding aircraft deliveries.

“Boeing, to be fair, have improved significantly. We had the last five of this summer’s deliveries in April. Every single one of these aircraft came a couple of days early, which is a good sign,” O’Leary told CNBC’s “Europe Early Edition” on Friday.

He was also optimistic about the outlook for the broader aviation industry.

“I think the airline sector generally, this summer, is looking at strong demand, reasonable pricing but with a real tailwind of declining oil prices coming through,” O’Leary said.