Boeing CEO Optimistic About Strong Travel Demand Recovery
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun expressed optimism about the recovery of travel demand, stating that it is stronger than expected. He believes there is pent-up demand for passenger traffic, tourism, and business travel.
According to Calhoun, order books and demand for proposals to meet this demand are at their highest levels in his career. Recession fears do not seem to be a concern in the aviation industry.
“If anything, that is the issue we’re all wrestling with: how does the supply chain regain the resilience it had before Covid so that it can meet these demands.”
Dave Calhoun
CEO of Boeing
Calhoun highlighted the challenge of restoring the supply chain’s pre-pandemic resilience to meet the increased demands. In August, Boeing delivered 35 planes, slightly fewer than in July, due to supply chain constraints.
Both Boeing and Airbus are facing difficulties in ramping up production due to these constraints. Despite China’s domestic airline capacity fully recovering, international flight capacity remains less than half of pre-pandemic levels.
However, Calhoun remains bullish about Boeing’s future and the potential for growth in China. He hopes that geopolitical concerns surrounding China will diminish over time.
Regarding competition from China’s Comac, which produces the C919 jet, Calhoun believes it will take a significant amount of time before it becomes a global competitor for Boeing or Airbus. Nevertheless, he views having multiple competitors as beneficial for the aviation industry, given the strong travel demand.
