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Qatar’s visitor numbers are recovering on road traffic across the Saudi border, while air arrivals keep falling. Drive-in visitors tend to make shorter trips, which limits how much they can do for hotels.
The Emirati airline recorded a net profit of 903 million dollars during the first semester, 66% less than in the same period of the previous year. Air closures, cancellations and flight deviations from the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran affected passenger traffic, which fell by 22 per cent, while the increase in fuel pushed its financial results.
None of this week’s threats has proved real, but each one still cost a diversion, a search and a rebuilt schedule. Whoever sent them, the hoaxes have added to a list of disruptions, from conflict-driven fuel costs to closed airspace, that is making routine flying in Europe ever more challenging.
Fuel hedges turned a likely loss into a profit for Emirates. The war’s full cost will show only once that cover runs out.
Despite improving profits, the Dutch airline says its future is far from guaranteed, with big changes needed to bring costs under control and restore competitiveness.
Airline pricing has come under more scrutiny in recent years after Delta disclosed it was using AI to price some fares and a lawsuit was filed against JetBlue, alleging that the company uses personal data to price airfares. The airline industry has said it uses no personal data to determine pricing.
Air India CEO Tewolde Gebremariam thinks the carrier has been "punching below its weight." He is now planning for the airline he wants it to become, not the one it is today.
JetBlue’s second bag fee increase this year tests how much more travelers will absorb.
AirAsia now has a date for Bahrain but less need for it. A Pegasus deal routing Europe traffic through Istanbul undercuts the case for a Gulf hub.
Virgin Atlantic's anger over Heathrow's terminal shake-up now has heavyweight backing from Atlanta. With Ed Bastian joining the fight, the airport faces mounting pressure to rethink its plans.
Jet fuel prices are still rising, and just about every variable affecting air travel is in flux — aircraft supply, air traffic volume, global partnerships, input costs. Decisions made today will determine who succeeds in aviation.
Even with a strong balance sheet, Ryanair is squeezing pay and hiring as its cheap fuel hedges run out. If the strongest airline in Europe is bracing for a difficult 2027, weaker rivals face a much harder winter.
Adani says a few airline exits would barely dent passenger numbers, but that’s not the only measure of a new airport’s success. If well-known long-haul carriers refuse to fly to Mumbai, Navi Mumbai’s international network will be mostly Indian airlines, which limits its appeal to global travelers.
Many airlines have learned the hard way that building short-haul networks around long-haul ambitions can backfire. Walsh believes IndiGo’s scale can generate connections without a hub, but that theory won’t be tested until its A350s arrive in 2028. Until then, with record fuel prices and no hedging in place, caution makes sense.
Avoiding Russia has become a climate problem for airlines heading from Europe to Northeast Asia — and a competitive disadvantage. Finnair, one of the most affected airlines, says it’s committed to its climate goals.
