Gordon Smith

This deal isn’t just about planes. It’s about geopolitics, supply chains, and Boeing reasserting dominance over Airbus after a bruising few years.

Getting involved in transportation could push the limits of Airbnb’s brand, regular operating margins, and its appetite for complexity.

Just when airlines thought it was safe to grow again, Akbar Al Baker offers a different forecast: turbulent trade wars and a supply chain hijacked by global conflict. Seatbelts, it seems, should remain fastened.

Allegiant earned a +9% operating margin in Q1 2025. That seems downright triumphant compared to Southwest’s figure of -2%, Frontier’s -5%, or JetBlue’s -8%, but context is key. In 2019, Allegiant’s operating margin in the first quarter was 20%. In other words, it’s performing 11 points worse today, a drop repeated at most of its LCC peers. In this week's feature story, we ask what's going on.

IAG has its eyes on the long-game with more than 70 new widebody planes on the way. With deliveries not starting until 2028, there’s plenty of time for the current turbulence to pass, or perhaps intensify.

There’s rarely a quiet moment for IndiGo’s energetic chief executive, but Pieter Elbers has even more on his plate than usual.

Vietjet’s foothold in the Kazakhstan market signals a quiet reshaping of air travel in Central Asia, where low-cost carriers are still in their infancy.

This new partnership looks like a smart workaround within the limits of Spirit’s operating model. If routes are chosen well, it could be the most creative chapter yet in the carrier’s post-bankruptcy playbook.

Heavy first quarter losses. A tariff war that threatens global commerce. Signs of softening in the all-important transatlantic market. Surely the Lufthansa Group must be worried? On the contrary, despite the rather nasty $932m Q1 net loss it reported last week, bosses at the European aviation powerhouse struck a decidedly upbeat tone. In this week's feature story, we ask if this optimism is justified.

Speaking to Skift, Arik De, Etihad's Chief Revenue and Commercial Officer, says the airline is working to rewrite the rulebook on first class, proving that ultra-premium doesn’t have to mean unprofitable.