Tariffs could lift Boeing and Airbus plane prices even higher

Boeing and Airbus have big order backlogs – Copyright AFP/File SAUL LOEB

Elodie MAZEIN with Olga NEDBAEVA in Paris

Commercial plane prices, already lifted in recent years due to pandemic supply chain shocks, are poised to climb further as Boeing and Airbus are buffeted by trade tariffs.

“Compared with 2018, prices for commercial jets have risen by around 30 percent,” an aviation expert told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The American and European aerospace giants have grappled with higher expenses for primary materials such as titanium, components and energy, as well as overall labor cost pressures.

To resolve a labor strike, Boeing late last year agreed to a new contract with its Seattle-based machinist union that lifted wages by 38 percent over four years.

Just months earlier, Spirit AeroSystems, a major supplier to both Boeing and Airbus, reached an agreement with similar wage increases.

Richard Aboulafia, managing director at consul