Trouble in the Gulf: Our 2026 Half-Time Report
Global Analysis
Trouble in the Gulf: Our 2026 Half-Time Report
Skift Take
The Iran war handed some European and East Asian carriers a windfall they didn't earn and handed every airline a fuel bill they couldn't avoid. The industry's pricing power has held — so far — but the second half will show whether that was resilience or just the absence of a better option.
Issue Overview
Six months into 2026, the airline industry looks very different from how the year began. War has redrawn global traffic flows, fuel prices have surged, Spirit has disappeared, consolidation has accelerated, and fortunes have shifted dramatically across regions. In this week's feature story, we take stock of the biggest winners, losers, and defining trends from a remarkable first half of the year.
