SMBC Aviation CEO Highlights Aircraft Delivery Delays

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Almost every aircraft being delivered by Boeing and Airbus is delayed, the head of aircraft leasing giant SMBC Aviation Capital said on Monday, later adding that enginemakers had made slight improvements in addressing their issues.

The aviation industry has been hampered by ongoing supply chain challenges slowing down deliveries from plane manufacturers and engine makers, many of which are set to last for the years to come.

"Frankly, every airplane has been pretty much delayed, some by a little, and some by a lot, and we've got to the point, I think that we're adjusting," SMBC CEO Peter Barrett told the Airline Economics conference in Dublin.

"Hopefully the manufacturers are being open and transparent," he said.

Airline CEOs have also complained about the lack of engine deliveries and repairs, with AirBaltic CEO Martin Gauss telling the Dublin conference the slow delivery of RTX-owned Pratt & Whitney engines was hampering the carrier's growth.

"There have been improvements there, but there's a way to go on the engine manufacturers," Barrett told Reuters.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher, Joanna Plucinska and Conor Humphries, Editing by Louise Heavens)