Aviation Week's Window Seat Podcast
Aug 20, 2026 · 31 min · 9 segments
EasyJet's takeover and airBaltic's restructuring headline a period of change as European airlines adapt to new competitive, financial and capacity pressures. Listen in as David Casey, Victoria Moores…
Richard MaslenGuestEdmond RoseGuestLooking at some other European carriers, we've had a number of, um, financial results in, in recent weeks.
We've heard from the likes of Lufthansa, who has dropped plans to increase capacity by as much as 2% this year and is considering more cuts to its short-haul network.
IAG has also moved from growth, I think, from under 3% to bl- broadly flat capacity.
Rich, taking the market as a whole, how would you characterize the health of the, the European aviation market this summer? Is this a pause in growth from some of those carriers, or do you think airlines are becoming more cautious for the longer term?
It's not a big seismic change, um, but this is a fairly revealing development as we are ...
You know, it, it's a strange situation to be in because as we look currently, if you're to believe all the headlines, you know, airlines should be struggling ridiculously.
You know, European aviation should be at the floor with everything that's going on.
You know, we have a really strong European aviation industry, and I think that's, that's where the complexity comes into it.
I've been on numerous flights over the last couple of months for our events, and every single one of them has been full, and the fares that I'm paying for most of the tickets are probably 20% more than what I paid last year for the examples that I have.
So, you know, we're seeing a strong demand and also, you know, strong yields for airlines.
Saying that, the cost of fuel has made a, a big impact on, on these airlines.
So I think where we are, the, the results from Air France KLM, Lufthansa, and, you know, and IAG, they're probably what we expected, but we may have thought that they would actually be a lot worse than, than, than they were given the, the impact that the operations from February to sort of even still today
Um, you know, they're quite highly hedged, all three groups, around, uh, 70 to 80% of their fuel costs.
So, you know, that's offset a lot of the additional costs that, that, that they're facing from fuel.
So, you know, it, it, that will change moving forward, and I think the longer that the crisis potentially goes on, it will have a, a noticeable impact on it.
And I think that's the bigger concern for, for European airlines right now is not price of fuel and, and how it's changing.
It's the uncertainty of how long we're gonna be in this envir- you know, in this environment.
Looking at some other European carriers, we've had a number of, um, financial results in, in recent weeks.
We've heard from the likes of Lufthansa, who has dropped plans to increase capacity by as much as 2% this year and is considering more cuts to its short-haul network.
IAG has also moved from growth, I think, from under 3% to bl- broadly flat capacity.
Rich, taking the market as a whole, how would you characterize the health of the, the European aviation market this summer? Is this a pause in growth from some of those carriers, or do you think airlines are becoming more cautious for the longer term?
It's not a big seismic change, um, but this is a fairly revealing development as we are ...
You know, it, it's a strange situation to be in because as we look currently, if you're to believe all the headlines, you know, airlines should be struggling ridiculously.
You know, European aviation should be at the floor with everything that's going on.
You know, we have a really strong European aviation industry, and I think that's, that's where the complexity comes into it.
I've been on numerous flights over the last couple of months for our events, and every single one of them has been full, and the fares that I'm paying for most of the tickets are probably 20% more than what I paid last year for the examples that I have.
So, you know, we're seeing a strong demand and also, you know, strong yields for airlines.
Saying that, the cost of fuel has made a, a big impact on, on these airlines.
So I think where we are, the, the results from Air France KLM, Lufthansa, and, you know, and IAG, they're probably what we expected, but we may have thought that they would actually be a lot worse than, than, than they were given the, the impact that the operations from February to sort of even still today
Um, you know, they're quite highly hedged, all three groups, around, uh, 70 to 80% of their fuel costs.
So, you know, that's offset a lot of the additional costs that, that, that they're facing from fuel.
So, you know, it, it, that will change moving forward, and I think the longer that the crisis potentially goes on, it will have a, a noticeable impact on it.
And I think that's the bigger concern for, for European airlines right now is not price of fuel and, and how it's changing.
It's the uncertainty of how long we're gonna be in this envir- you know, in this environment.
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