American, United continue seeing widespread supplier issues

While Boeing still must get on track, issues at other suppliers are creating stress and, in some cases, prompting strategic changes, top executives at American Airlines and United Airlines said.

“Boeing is not the only one that is out there [struggling],” American CEO Robert Isom said during the May 29 Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference in New York. “There are other suppliers that have a dramatic impact on the overall industry’s ability to produce capacity, and they’ve fallen behind considerably.”

Isom cited Honeywell as one example. The company has acknowledged a backlog of overdue orders, especially for aftermarket customers.

“The number one priority for Honeywell Aerospace is to continue to invest in the aftermarket in terms of unlocking the supply base and continuing to support our customers going forward,” Honeywell Aerospace President and CEO Jim Currier said at a recent Bank of America investor event.

Smoothing out the supply chain’s bumps will take time, Isom acknowledged. A recent Accenture of supplier executives shows confidence in the commercial supply base is growing. But for the biggest remaining problems, such as Boeing’s chronic quality struggles, acute, short-term pain is a worthwhile trade-off if it leads to stability.

“We’ve talked about our issues with Boeing, and there’s still a lot more to go there,” Isom said. [They] have to make sure [they] are delivering quality aircraft off the line every time. What I’ve talked to Boeing about is, ‘Hey, in regard to producing aircraft, even for us, let’s get the quality right and take the lumps now. And I believe that Boeing will do that.”

Both American and United have sizable commitments to the 737 MAX and 787—the two programs hit hardest over the last several years b Boeing’s missteps. United also has a 180-aircraft order for Pratt & Whitney PW1100G geared turbofan (GTF)-powered Airbus A320neos. While only a handful of them have been delivered and are subject to unscheduled engine removals to inspect and replace parts potentially containing contaminated powder metal, Kirby suggests United is more leery of Pratt’s issues than Boeing’s.

“The GTF issue is probably worse than Boeing,” he said, adding that while United considers the U.S. air traffic control staffing shortage as its largest constraint, “there are supply chain issues everywhere.”

One of the issues—Boeing’s longer than expected 737-10 certification program—led United to remove the model from its fleet plan earlier in 2024. While the airline stopped short of canceling its 80-aircraft order, it moved to fill some of the capacity void, snapping up 35 A321neos from two lessors.

But unlike its current A321s, the leased aircraft will be powered by CFM Leap 1As. While the Leaps have not flown trouble-free, they have proven to be more durable than GTFs and do not face widespread unscheduled inspections or parts life-limit reductions linked to production issues.

“Our new [A321neos] that we’re leasing have Leap engines because of that,” Kirby said.