Madhu Unnikrishnan

Does JetBlue's surprise bid for Spirit make sense for the carrier's network? At first glance, Wall Street didn't think so.

Despite higher fuel costs, the first major land war in Europe since World War II, and the lingering pandemic, Air France CEO Anne Rigail remains optimistic about summer travel demand. In fact, the airline plans to fly more flights to North America, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Indian Ocean than it did in 2019.

It could be a hot summer across the Atlantic Ocean, as airlines scramble to add as many flights as they can on what they think will be the strongest leisure long-haul market in the world. With Asia still largely closed, British Airways is redeploying resources that would have flown to Asia to the Atlantic market.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine will ripple throughout the airline industry, most immediately through high oil prices and airspace closures. But if the West and Russia trade sanctions and restrictions, easy flights between North America, Europe, and Asia could be a thing of the past.

It could be years before the airline industry fully recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic, outgoing Southwest CEO Gary Kelly says. But as he leaves his job, he believes Southwest's domestic route network will stand it in good stead to capitalize on changing travel trends.

United Airlines had expected to fly more this year than it did in 2019, but the spread of the Omicron variant caused a huge slump in first-quarter demand, a hole United doesn't expect to climb out of no matter how strong the rest of the year is.

Etihad is betting that as passengers return to flying, sustainability will be more of a concern. The Abu Dhabi-based airline is allowing passengers to offset not just their flights but even how much they drive and their use of air conditioning through its new green loyalty program.

The Boeing 737 Max returned to flight, ending a 20-month grounding that started in 2019 after two fatal accidents. Most people didn't even notice, and that's just how the airlines and Boeing wanted it. Despite that, the aircraft is a crucial piece of hardware that airlines are relying on to help them climb out of the pandemic.

That got ugly quick. A lovefest between U.S. senators and airline executives on the success of the federal Payroll Support Program quickly devolved into a shouting match over vaccine and mask mandates.

Speaking at Skift Aviation Forum, Pieter Elbers says the world is on its way to recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, but he tempers his optimism by saying the road ahead will be "bumpy."