Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 74: Fueling Success

Ryanair was one of just three individual airlines in Europe to post an operating profit in the first quarter. The success came not only by way of the airline’s juggernaut of a business model, but also because Ryanair was one of the few to see a year-over-year decline in fuel costs.

One European airline had an even better Q1 than Ryanair. British Airways chalked up an 8% operating margin in the historically weak first quarter. Air France/KLM, by its own standards, had a good quarter, in part because of its operational performance. Wizz Air lost a little money, but that’s nothing to worry about as the LCC expects great success this summer. Other items discussed include the Alitalia death watch and whether terrorist attacks in the U.K. will nullify recent traffic gains.