Jay Shabat

Gordon Smith and Jay Shabat set the scene for the upcoming Skift India Forum and preview the big topics ahead of interviews with the CEOs of Air India and IndiGo.

For an airline, the closest thing to happiness is cheap fuel. No wonder so many American carriers are smiling. During the final quarter of 2024, U.S. airlines enjoyed a roughly 20% drop in jet fuel prices.

Southwest just had its first round of compulsory layoffs in its history. What does that mean for the low-cost pioneer and the industry as a whole?

Should Finnair hire a party planner, or a funeral director? No, it’s not in danger of dying. But after a surprisingly strong showing in 2023 and 2024, 2025 is looking uncomfortably fraught with peril. Labor unrest. Ballooning costs. A once-prized Asian network still disrupted. It’s enough to make any airline nervous, let alone a smallish government-owned carrier that lacks scale. In this week's edition, we ask if Finnair can defy the odds again.

After a sensational run of impressive profits in the 2010s, what can Japan Airlines do to restore its weakened commercial cut-through?

Down. Down. Down. In 2024, Japan Airlines saw its annual profit margins drop again. Putting aside the pandemic-blemished period, JAL’s profitability declined for a sixth consecutive year. Last week, it posted a 7% operating margin for calendar year 2024. Not just down versus 2023, but a far cry from its 15% heyday. What’s happening? In this week's feature story we ask if the double-digit margins are gone forever and if JAL can turn things around.

There are plenty of ifs, buts, and maybes, however, if a Frontier-Spirit merger does occur, it'll shake up the U.S. airline industry in a huge way.

In a victory of sorts, JetBlue managed a slim Q4 profit. It wasn't a fantastic performance, but this reversed an operating loss in 2023’s fourth quarter. Might it mark the start of a much-needed turnaround? JetBlue delivered its earnings presentation a day before Frontier launched a new bid to buy Spirit. Will it consider a revised offer too? Or could JetBlue itself become an acquisition target? In this week's feature story we examine the latest ups and downs at New York's Hometown Airline.

As earnings season gathers pace, Jay Shabat and Meghna Maharishi take stock and share their insights on the latest numbers from Breeze Airways and American Airlines.

There’s a lot going right at United. Another strong financial result last quarter—and last year—places it alongside Delta in the circle of America’s global champions. Not so American. While avoiding…