Gordon Smith is Airlines Editor at Skift and Editor at Airline Weekly. He’s been writing about the sector for more than a decade and enjoyed a front-row seat for some of the aviation industry’s biggest stories. Since joining Skift in January 2024, he has interviewed more than a dozen global airline CEOs, often helping make headlines along the way (special thanks to Michael O’Leary!). His informed insights have led to contributions for international media, including the London Evening Standard and Canada’s CBC Radio.
Was 2024 a good year for the global airline industry? Yes. Demand was strong, supply was constrained, and fuel prices dropped as the year progressed. In this, our last issue of Airline Weekly before the new year, we look at the top trends and themes of the past year, one that many airlines will remember fondly.
Ten years ago, Airline Weekly published a story about Taiwan’s booming airline traffic. East Asian economies were growing rapidly, low-cost carriers were expanding aggressively, and Emirates had just launched services linking Taipei with its Dubai mega-hub. Today, as 2024 nears its end, Taiwan’s airline market is again flourishing, however the dynamics are rather different. In this week's feature, we examine the key factors driving impressive margins and double-digit growth.
Talk about bad luck. Greg Foran’s first day as chief executive of Air New Zealand was February 3rd, 2020. Barely a month later, the Covid virus all but grounded the airline’s passenger business. The crisis would end. But Foran’s luck didn’t get much better. Today, about 16% of ANZ’s jet fleet is grounded due to engine issues, affecting both B787s and A320-family Neos. Despite the woes, Foran and his team are bullish about the carrier's prospects, as we discover in this week's feature story.
From perspectives on a second Trump presidency to the challenges at Boeing - you can't afford to miss these exclusive insights from one of the biggest names in U.S. aviation.
This week we have an extra special treat for you. Recorded at the Skift Aviation Forum, held in Dallas, Texas on November 12th, we're in conversation with the IATA Director General Willie Walsh.