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By Karl Sinclair

March 23, 2026, © Leeham News: Airlines and lessors around the world are clamouring for their aircraft, which have been ordered and scheduled for delivery years in advance.

As the Trump Administration begins to cobble together an economic plan to combat rising oil prices due to the Iran war, this is especially true in the narrow-body segment, where fuel-efficient aircraft are badly needed.

Brent crude was trading at $85 a barrel, its highest since July 2024, which applies more pressure on OEMs to deliver aircraft to customers. This is up from a low of $55 a barrel in December 2025.

While both aircraft manufacturing behemoths, Airbus (AB) and Boeing (BA), struggled to meet their respective master production schedules, one common thread emerges that affects both in the same manner:

Engine makers cannot keep up, even in the best of times.

Across the globe, all the engine producers face their own supply-chain and technology issues. It does not matter if the producer is North American-based, European, or Asian.

Powerplants are a tricky proposition, even for the most established engine-maker.

This begs the question:

Why doesn’t someone new enter the market and pick up the slack in production? If not someone new, how about a current aviation industry corporation, with an installed engineering base, who can invest and transition into commercial engines?