After several turbulent years marked by aircraft delivery delays, grounded jets, and overstrained maintenance networks, the global aerospace supply chain is slowly beginning to regain its footing. Major carriers including Singapore Airlines, American Airlines, United, Delta, Emirates, and Lufthansa are now locking in new maintenance deals, refreshing fleets, and recalibrating schedules for 2025 and 2026. For travelers planning a trip to Spain, one of the world’s hottest tourism markets, the big question is whether these shifts will translate into easier bookings, more stable schedules, or potentially higher fares.
Aerospace Supply Chains Are Healing, But Constraints Remain
The commercial aerospace industry is emerging from a period in which aircraft and engine shortages were a defining bottleneck. Industry analyses through late 2024 and 2025 point to a record backlog of more than 17,000 aircraft at manufacturers, along with delivery shortfalls counted in the thousands. Production is rising, yet it will take the better part of a decade for manufacturers and suppliers to fully catch up with demand.
For airlines, those constraints have meant operating older, less fuel efficient jets for longer than planned, juggling schedules around delayed deliveries, and paying more for leased aircraft and engines. Industry forecasts for 2025 estimate that these supply chain challenges will cost airlines well into the double digit billions of dollars in extra expenses, from fuel to maintenance and spare parts inventory.
Even as production ramps up in 2026 and beyond, the reality is that aircraft availability will remain tight for several years. That does not mean global networks will shrink, but it does mean that airlines must prioritize where to deploy their newest and most efficient aircraft, and where they can stretch aging fleets a little longer. Routes to Spain, including transatlantic services from the United States and long haul flights from Asia and the Middle East, sit right in the middle of these strategic decisions.
How the Big Carriers Are Responding
The recovering supply chain is prompting large airlines to lock in long term arrangements that reduce operational risk. Singapore Airlines has just signed what Boeing describes as the largest landing gear exchange agreement in its history, covering more than 75 landing gear assemblies for the group’s Boeing 737 MAX and 787 fleets. The program is designed to ensure that overhauled components are available on demand, which helps the airline avoid extended groundings during heavy maintenance and limits the need to stockpile expensive spares.
This type of deal exemplifies a broader shift among global carriers. Instead of relying on a just in time flow of parts, they are striking comprehensive service agreements with manufacturers and specialist maintenance providers. The goal is to stabilize turnaround times and increase the proportion of the fleet that is actually flying. For travelers, this should, over time, translate into fewer last minute equipment driven cancellations and a more predictable schedule.
US carriers such as American Airlines, United, and Delta have been following a parallel path, renewing multi year contracts for engines, components, and digital maintenance systems while continuing to take new aircraft deliveries whenever they can be secured. European giants like Lufthansa and Middle Eastern carrier Emirates are also recalibrating their fleet plans and maintenance strategies to cope with lingering supply instability. The common thread is an emphasis on reliability and flexibility rather than just raw growth in aircraft numbers.
Fleet Modernization, Delays, and What It Means for Your Flight
Behind the scenes, the fleet picture at many of these airlines tells a story of both progress and compromise. Singapore Airlines and its low cost subsidiary Scoot now operate one of the youngest large airline fleets in the world, with an average age under eight years and a high proportion of new generation Airbus A350, Boeing 787, and 737 MAX aircraft. The group has dozens more jets on order, including advanced Boeing 777-9 and Airbus A350 freighters, signalling confidence in long term growth.
However, even carriers with robust order books have seen promised delivery timelines slip. For 2024 and 2025, Singapore Airlines Group has had to trim its expected fleet count because of late arriving aircraft, while phasing out older Boeing 737-800s more slowly than initially planned. This mirrors the experience of many airlines worldwide, which have been forced to keep older jets in operation in order to protect capacity while they wait for factories and engine shops to clear the backlog.
For travelers, a delayed aircraft delivery rarely means a canceled route, especially on core international markets. Instead, it can mean that a flight originally scheduled for a brand new jet might be operated by an older model, or that frequency increases take place later in the season than first advertised. Comfort, cabin technology, and noise levels may vary slightly from what airlines promote on their websites, and tight maintenance windows can also contribute to occasional last minute aircraft swaps.
Spain Rides a Wave of Record Capacity and Demand
Against this global backdrop, Spain stands out as a clear winner in terms of air service growth. After a record year for its airports in 2024, the country is poised to see all time high capacity again in the 2025 summer season. Data for the second quarter of 2025 show that low cost giant Ryanair will account for nearly a quarter of all seats from and within Spain, with IAG carriers Vueling and Iberia taking substantial shares as well.
Internationally, the United Kingdom remains Spain’s largest single overseas market by seats, followed closely by strong flows from Germany, France, Italy, and the United States. Long haul connectivity continues to strengthen, with Iberia and other European carriers boosting transatlantic links and Middle Eastern airlines expanding via their hubs to destinations such as Madrid and Barcelona. This strong capacity position means that Spain is starting from a place of abundance, rather than scarcity, as the aerospace supply chain heals.
For travelers from North America and Asia, this is particularly important. A country that is short of aircraft or constrained by airport capacity can see fares surge and availability evaporate quickly when demand spikes. Spain’s record capacity suggests that, while prices will still reflect robust demand, there will be competition and choice on major routes, including those served by United, Delta, American, and their alliance partners, as well as by Emirates and European network carriers.
Will Your Flight from the US, Asia, or the Gulf to Spain Change?
Passengers flying from the United States to Spain rely heavily on the transatlantic joint ventures anchored by American Airlines, United, and Delta, each working with European partners. American links Madrid and Barcelona through its alliance with Iberia, while United and Delta coordinate with various European carriers to feed passengers into Spanish destinations via hubs such as Frankfurt, Munich, Paris, and Amsterdam. Any supply chain relief that allows these groups to operate more aircraft reliably is likely to support, not reduce, Spanish connectivity.
Emirates and other Gulf carriers also play a growing role in funneling travelers from Asia, Africa, and Australasia into Spain, usually via one stop connections. Their wide body fleets have been directly affected by engine and parts constraints, particularly on high use aircraft, but the long haul nature of their networks makes Spain a strategically valuable market. It is therefore more likely that they will protect Spanish services, even if that means adjusting capacity elsewhere.
For Singapore Airlines, Spain is often reached indirectly, with passengers transiting through European gateway cities operated by Star Alliance partners. As the airline focuses on maintaining high reliability through its new landing gear exchange program and other maintenance initiatives, travelers connecting onward to Madrid, Barcelona, or resort destinations in the Balearic and Canary Islands can reasonably expect schedules to remain stable. Any changes are more likely to appear as seasonal adjustments to frequency rather than abrupt cancellations discovered at the airport.
What Travelers to Spain Should Expect in 2025 and 2026
While the aerospace supply chain is no longer in the crisis phase seen in the early 2020s, travelers should not expect an immediate return to the ultra flexible, low fare environment of a decade ago. Airlines are still absorbing higher operating and maintenance costs associated with older aircraft and constrained component supply. Those costs, combined with strong leisure demand for destinations like Spain, tend to keep average fares elevated compared with pre pandemic norms, especially at peak times.
On the positive side, the combination of record capacity to Spain and a more stable flow of aircraft parts should translate into better on time performance and fewer disruption cascades. Where in recent years a single unscheduled technical issue could sideline a jet for days while a needed component was located, expanded maintenance agreements and deeper inventories should shorten repair times. That, in turn, reduces the chances that your long planned trip to Barcelona or Seville is derailed by an unexpected cancellation.
Travelers should still build a margin of safety into tight connections, particularly when combining separate tickets or mixing long haul and regional low cost flights. However, as airlines implement new supply chain strategies and manufacturers resolve some of the most acute bottlenecks, the day to day experience of flying to and within Spain should gradually become less fraught than it was in the immediate post pandemic rebuild.
How to Safeguard Your Spain Itinerary Amid Ongoing Changes
For individual travelers, the most effective response to this evolving landscape is practical, not technical. Booking early for high season trips to Spain remains advisable, particularly for travel in late spring, summer, and major holiday periods when demand surges and attractive fares are snapped up quickly. Early bookings give you more choice of routing and schedule, which is valuable if an airline later needs to adjust frequencies or aircraft types.
It is also worth paying attention to aircraft changes noted on your reservation. While a switch from one wide body model to another often has little impact beyond seat layout, a downgrade to a smaller aircraft can signal a busier cabin or tighter constraints on baggage and upgrades. Airlines such as Singapore Airlines, United, Delta, American, Emirates, and Lufthansa now communicate equipment changes more systematically through apps and email. Checking periodically in the weeks before departure can give you time to reselect seats or, if necessary, request an alternative flight.
Lastly, consider building some flexibility into the start and end of your trip. A same day connection from an intercontinental arrival into a tight onward low cost flight can still be vulnerable if upstream aircraft face unexpected maintenance or weather issues. An overnight in Madrid or Barcelona, or a slightly longer layover, can serve as inexpensive insurance, especially when traveling during peak summer storm seasons or winter weather windows on your home continent.
The Bottom Line: Strong Spain Networks, Gradual Global Repair
The recovery of the aerospace supply chain is a slow, complex process rather than a single turning point. Airlines and manufacturers must work through years of deferred maintenance, staffing gaps at specialist suppliers, and backlogs that will take the better part of a decade to unwind. Nevertheless, the latest moves by major carriers, including Singapore Airlines’ record component support deal and ongoing fleet investments by American, United, Delta, Emirates, and Lufthansa, show that the industry is actively rebuilding resilience.
For Spain bound travelers, the news is broadly reassuring. Spain’s air capacity is at or near record levels, competition on many routes is robust, and the big global players that help feed passengers into Spanish airports are prioritizing reliability as they negotiate new maintenance and supply agreements. While schedules and aircraft types will continue to evolve, there is no sign that the recovering aerospace supply chain will choke off access to Spain in the coming years.
What you can expect instead is a marketplace characterized by high demand, solid capacity, and gradually improving operational stability. Planning ahead, staying informed about changes to your flight, and allowing a modest buffer in your itinerary remain the best ways to ensure that your next journey to Spain unfolds smoothly as the aviation industry quietly, and somewhat imperfectly, repairs the machinery that keeps the world connected.