It’s the question on every frequent flyer’s mind – when can we get on a plane again? With the global lockdown of the passenger aviation industry imposed by governments to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, there are a number of unanswered questions about how and when it will be possible to board an international flight. […]

Around 6 years ago, I completed my last post on developments in passenger aviation. While there were periodic liquidations of airlines, the industry was beginning to converge on a long-term equilibrium: a progressive hybridization of the core business model – merging elements of low-cost carriers with core features of legacy airline services. Consolidation at the […]

When to considerable fanfare in around 2014, Lufthansa Group announced the development of Eurowings as a core network airline for the company operating intra-European flights from Germany (with the exception of Frankfurt and Munich), much attention focused on how this move was designed to help Lufthansa respond to the threat of LCCs in the German […]

It’s been a while since I last updated but three recent events in the industry inspired me to come back with some analysis and insight. Three large European network carriers have hit crises: Air Berlin, Monarch and Ryanair. Each of the crises are different in both cause and impact on passengers. The stakes are different […]

The seeming deafness to passenger demands of senior management at Lufthansa Group continues. At numerous airports outside of their home bases, the cost cutting madness gripping LH group means that local ticketing and rebooking staff will be removed such that if passengers have to rearrange their flights (due to flight cancellations), they will have to call […]

They are all trying it. Air France/KLM, Lufthansa Group and IAG are all trying to copy Europe’s leading LCCs by launching their own ‘budget’ brand. From the outset, history is against them. Rarely in strategy analysis can the word ‘never’ be said with 100 percent certainty: full-service carriers (FSCs) have never been able to launch […]

As highlighted in my last blog post, Turkish Airlines’ attempts to become one of the world’s biggest airlines has led to significant challenges in the support activities of the company. While the topic of my last post was the ground services at Istanbul airport, the focus of my analysis here is the weak and poorly […]

It’s 01:30 in the early hours. Istanbul airport is teeming with people from all corners of the world as Turkish Airlines continues its March towards being the biggest airline in the world. For premium and economy passengers alike, Turkish Airlines on board service is regarded as one of the best in the world and certainly […]

The recent dramatic fall in oil prices has been heralded as both a good and bad thing for the world economy. On the one hand, falling oil prices will reduce the cost of energy and transportation fuel helping consumers have more money to spend on other things. This could cause a demand side economic boost. […]

In European passenger aviation 2015 began much as expected – further pressure for restructuring. Two events this week presaged much of what we can expect in the coming twelve months. First, Cyprus Airways was grounded indefinitely when the EU Commission’s State Aid investigation led to a ruling requiring the company to repay 65 million Euro […]