Airlines

UK Regional Airline Flybmi Collapses and Blames Brexit

Patrick Whyte, Skift

The shakeout in European aviation many have predicted looks like it is happening in 2019.

Look for Charter Airlines to Pick Up More Airbus Superjumbos

Richard Reiss, Bloomberg

The Airbus A380 could have a longer second career as a dense people-mover for charter airlines. They can probably add them cheaply, but like the big airlines, charter carriers will have to contend with high operating costs. Fueling those four engines is not cheap.

Brazil’s Gol Airlines Stands to Thrive as a Big Local Competitor Falters

Vinícius Andrade and Fabiola Moura, Bloomberg

About 80 percent of Gol's routes overlap with Avianca Brasil's, according to one analyst. Given those numbers, it makes sense Gol's fortunes are improving as its competitor stumbles. But will the good times last?

Skift Global Forum Recap: How Airlines Can Maximize the Results of Ancillary Merchandising

Airlines have reaped huge rewards in recent years from sales of ancillary products. But as we discovered during this Skift Global Forum panel, their future success is by no means assured. Airlines will need to learn to think more like retailers, using what they know about customers to deliver the right products and services that meet passengers’ constantly changing needs.

Delta CEO Learned About Airline’s NRA Discount From the Parkland Students

Dennis Schaal, Skift

Forget board meetings and protocols, brands like Delta know they have to respond to a social media crisis almost immediately. Hesitation kills.

Vietnam Wins U.S. Approval to Start Flights

Alan Levin and Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen, Bloomberg

It's tick in the box for Vietnam's aviation industry but it doesn't mean that its airlines are guaranteed bucket loads of cash from flying to and from the United States.

Italy’s Government Wants to Remain Central to Alitalia’s Future

Chiara Albanese, Daniele Lepido and Tommaso Ebhardt, Bloomberg

A lot of smart people think the best course of action is for Alitalia to disappear. But the national government has decided it is an important resource and seems intent on not letting go.

Killing the Airbus Superjumbo Was an Act of Kindness

Chris Bryant, Bloomberg

Travelers and aviation enthusiasts will be sad about the end of the Airbus A380 program. But it's been on life support for awhile. It was time for it to go. On the bright side, some superjumbos should keep flying for a couple of decades.

Lenders Propose Bailout to Save Beleaguered Indian Airline Jet Airways

Anurag Kotoky, Bloomberg

Bloomberg reports Jet Airways has accumulated more losses in recent years than any publicly-traded Asian airline other than Pakistan International Airlines. That's remarkable, and it's probably a sign lenders should let the airline go. But that doesn't sound likely.

Pilot Shortage Leads IndiGo To Cancel Dozens of Flights Daily for Next 2 Months

Anurag Kotoky, Bloomberg

The U.S. hospitality and food service industries had an estimated 900,000 unfilled jobs in 2018. Indigo and Asia, actually, need more pilots — badly.

Etihad Takes an Axe to Its Aircraft Order Book

Layan Odeh, Bloomberg

Norwegian isn't the only airline trying to scale back its ambitious expansion plans. Etihad is making its own drastic cost reductions in a bid to turn its business around.

Airbus to Cease Production of World’s Largest Passenger Plane

Benedikt Kammel and Benjamin Katz , Bloomberg

The end has been in the cards for a while but Airbus is finally pulling the plug on the A380. It seems like the era of the double-decker jet is over.