Europe certainly has its share of struggling airlines, but Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air are not among them. And for Ryanair and Wizz, fourth quarter earnings simply topped off a triumphant 2016. (easyJet has yet to report on its fourth quarter.) In the U.S., Spirit’s fourth quarter numbers were great—just not great for Spirit, as […]
Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 59: Forward-looking Statement
Call it our year-in-preview show. In this first episode of 2017, we look at some of the more interesting stories that are ushering in the airline industry’s new year. Of course, 2017 doesn’t promise answers to all our questions. But we can hope, can’t we? Some of those questions: Leisure demand was one of the […]
Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 17 – Easy Does It!
Not so surprisingly, easyJet wrapped up a strong earnings season in Europe with some strong numbers of its own. We looked at what’s working for easyJet but also why it can’t quite top rivals Ryanair or Wizz Air. Then it’s pretty much all downhill from there. Most airlines can top Air Berlin right now. Thai […]
Trading Places: In one of 10 key trends, European airlines are—like a 1980s film plot—swapping roles
In the late 1980s, a succession of terrible films with names like “Vice Versa,” “18 Again!” and “Like Father, Like Son”—collectively known as the “body swap genre”—all depicted someone acting like someone else. Kirk Cameron was old. George Burns was young. The explanation was always something ridiculous, like someone drinking a magic potion. Fast forward […]
A Nervous Champion: Swiss is one of Europe’s most profitable airlines. So why is it so intent on reform?
You can set your Swiss watch to it: Year in and year out, Swiss International Air Lines—sometimes it just calls itself “Swiss”—emerges as the most profitable airline in the Lufthansa Group. It does better than Austrian Airlines, better than Brussels Airlines, better than Germanwings, better than British Midland (or did when it was still around) […]