Summer travel is expected to soar to record highs, but a potential shortage of planes looms on the horizon.

And that's leaving airlines really bracing to make sure that they can handle that onrush of travel demand.

Us Airlines this year expected to receive 40 % fewer planes than they planned for last year, according to Industry Group aerodynamic advisory, which means one thing for your travel budget.

From a consumer standpoint, with demand strong and supply relatively weak. That's a recipe for higher airfares.

United Airlines and Southwest pausing hiring. United even offering their pilots unpaid leave. Alaska Airlines, along with Southwest, unsure how many flights they can fly, calling their capacity forecasts uncertain. All of the airlines pointing directly to Boeing 737 max production delays. The aviation giant facing quality control scrutiny and under investigation by the FAA after the door plug blowout in January. Boeing's number of airplanes deliveries sank to 83 in their last quarter, compared to 157, the one prior.

You've got this effort to return to 2019 levels of jetliner production. Airbus is getting there. Boeing is stumbling pretty badly.

Boeing CFO Brian West saying last month, We're deliberately going to slow to get this right, and we're the ones who made the decision to constrain rates on the 737 program. All of this on the brink of sky high travel demand. Major airlines bracing for a huge travel season, following a record-setting year for TSA travel numbers.

It means higher prices, but also planes that are going to be more full than they would otherwise be.

Airlines now have just months left to course-correct before summer travel takes off. Marissa Parra, NBC News.

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