Gordon Smith

Will someone in South America please check the calendar? Is it still 2019? Latam, South America’s largest airline group, is paying a remarkably low 4.8 U.S. cents, excluding fuel, to fly one seat one kilometer. That’s almost identical to the 4.6 cents it paid six years earlier. In this week's feature story, we explore why Latam’s cost structure is basically the same as it was before the Covid crisis.

Premium cabins still drive profits, but it's the low-cost threat that keeps Europe's legacy carriers up at night.

Securing rights to one of the world’s busiest international airports isn’t easy, but Riyadh Air seems to have found a low-cost workaround.

Trading its sovereign safety net for the scrutiny of the stock market has long been on the table – but could Etihad’s current success delay the plan?

JetBlue found a new dance partner after its messy breakup with American – but this deal is deliberately limited to avoid antitrust headaches.

There’s no shame in winning a bronze medal. Unless it’s a game of three players. The U.S. has just three global airlines. And for seven straight years now, the medal stand has looked the same. In the contest for best operating margin, Delta always wins the gold. United always wins the silver. And American always gets stuck with the bronze. In this week's feature story, we examine why.

Etihad is hoping to outmaneuver its Gulf rivals with 30 small but premium aircraft. Will passengers buy the promise of private jet-like luxury?

Wizz Air’s turnaround strategy is still evolving; but recent moves suggest a return to core markets and cost discipline as it tries to regain altitude in Europe’s competitive low-cost sector.

A looming EU trade clash has the potential to disrupt aircraft deliveries and spike costs, but the impact of blanket U.S. tariffs could make waves far beyond the Atlantic.

Copenhagen is one of Europe’s fastest growing airports this summer. Scheduled seat capacity in the Danish capital is up 7% y/y, according to Cirium Diio. Surprisingly, Copenhagen is growing without much help from Europe’s low-cost airlines. It's legacy player SAS that’s responsible for most of the rise, as we explain in this week’s feature story.