• Austrian Airlines CEO Annette Mann has warned that aviation supply chain disruption remains a long-term challenge, with aircraft delivery delays and shortages of parts and engines expected to influence planning through at least 2028.
• The carrier has avoided capacity reductions by relying on contingency planning, fleet flexibility and support from the wider Lufthansa Group.
• Mann said airlines must increasingly build resilience into their operations as supply chain constraints and external disruptions continue to reshape the industry.

The aviation industry’s supply chain problems may no longer dominate headlines in the way they did immediately after the pandemic, but for airline executives they remain a central operational concern. Delayed aircraft deliveries, shortages of critical components and engine availability constraints continue to shape fleet planning decisions years into the future. Speaking in an interview with Graham Newton (IATA), Austrian Airlines CEO Annette Mann said the carrier is still dealing with the effects of supply chain disruption as it embarks on its fleet renewal programme.

“There is an impact partly from a lack of new aircraft and partly from a lack of parts, including engines,” Mann said.

What has changed is not the existence of disruption but the industry’s response to it. Rather than waiting for supply chains to normalise, airlines are increasingly building contingency planning into their operating models.

For Austrian Airlines, this has meant maintaining alternative scenarios and leveraging resources available through the Lufthansa Group. According to Mann, the airline has avoided any reduction in capacity despite ongoing shortages.

“We’ve always had a plan B and so there has been no capacity reduction because of the difficulties,” she said.

The ability to share assets across a wider airline group has become an important tool. Aircraft, engines and capacity can be redistributed according to operational needs, while group-wide wet leasing arrangements provide additional flexibility when disruptions occur.

“We are focusing more and more on the group optimum rather than an optimum for each airline,” Mann said. “That means we collaborate and help each other out.”

The challenges are also proving more persistent than many had initially expected. While some airlines anticipated gradual improvements in aircraft availability and maintenance supply chains, Austrian Airlines is planning around disruption for several years ahead. “Many deliveries are delayed, but we currently predict out to 2028, and we have plans in place to cope,” Mann said.

The experience reflects a broader shift in how airlines approach operational resilience. Fleet planning can no longer rely solely on expected delivery schedules or stable geopolitical conditions. Instead, carriers are increasingly preparing for multiple scenarios simultaneously.

Mann said the lessons learned during the pandemic have fundamentally changed the industry’s approach to disruption management.

“Now, it takes days, sometimes only hours, to re-plan the network and that wasn’t do-able before the pandemic,” she said.

That flexibility extends beyond supply chains. Airlines must also adapt to geopolitical developments, airspace restrictions and changing market conditions, often with little warning.

“Airlines must be flexible and resilient because the next crisis is just around the corner,” Mann said. “By all means, have a strategy, but you must be flexible within that framework and know what you will do when external events disrupt your plan.”

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