The Airbus A380 is soaring back into airline fleets – many
expensively retrieved from mothballs during the Covid pandemic – to cope
with surging passenger demand ahead of the delivery to airlines of the
latest generation aircraft.
Latest research from AviationValues, which compiles data, including
aircraft and fleet values, deals and transactions, has found that of all
aircraft types being flown post-pandemic, the large four engine
widebodies like the A380 and the Boeing 747 have struggled the most from
a utilisation and value point of view.
As the impact of the pandemic on aviation eases, smaller aircraft
have returned to the skies on domestic and regional routes, while the
long-haul travel market served by wide-bodied jets has been stifled by
lingering international border restrictions – most notably in China.
Latest IATA figures show total traffic in May 2023 (measured in
revenue passenger kilometres) rose 39.1% compared to May 2022. Globally,
traffic is now at 96.1% of May 2019 (pre-pandemic) levels. Domestic
traffic, for the second month in a row, has exceeded pre-pandemic
levels.
Airlines which have reactivated at least part of their quad jet
fleets include Air China; Asiana; All Nippon Airways; British Airways;
the dominant A380 operator Emirates; Korean Air; the dominant 747
operator Lufthansa; Qantas; Qatar and Singapore Airlines.
As travel demand has bounced back from the pandemic, the quad jets
face the additional hurdle of being the most expensive to prepare for a
return to service. “This has meant they have lagged the recovery of
smaller aircraft,” says AviationValues’ head of commercial analysts,
Gary Crichlow.
“Traditionally reserved for the longest range and highest capacity
routes, the wide-body quad jets have for decades seen a steady erosion
of their market share in favour of higher frequency services operated by
medium and large twinjets that can service long range routes more
efficiently,” Crichlow added.
Additionally, the recovery in demand for passenger aircraft has been
coupled with a constraint in supply of new deliveries, as well as
available slots for maintenance due to supply chain issues.
AviationValues says the stars in sky are the new technology
narrowbodies represented by the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737-800,
aircraft that have exhibited “the highest resilience in terms of
utilisation over the pandemic”, with new generation widebody twins such
as the Airbus A350-900 and Boeing 777-300ER also having a strong impact.
These aircraft represent “a significant technological or fuel efficiency advance over the preceding generation of aircraft,” Crichlow said, referring to the Airbus A320neo and Airbus 350-900.