What does Ryanair's recent profit slump tell us about the state of the aviation market in Europe?
When Ryanair reported poor June quarter results, it blamed a weak pricing environment, causing European airline shares to take a hit. However, subsequent results from competitors seem to tell a different story.
A comparison of European airline results for 2023
We are now far enough into 2024 to have a pretty complete picture of European airline performance in 2023. Overall, it was a year of record profitability, much needed after the financial ravages of the pandemic. But which airline brands performed best?
IAG’s full year results for 2023
IAG has just announced its full year results for 2023. Both the €3.5 billion operating profit and the €3.1 billion pre-tax profit were all-time records. How did the figures compare to what I'd been expecting?
Comparing the balance sheets of IAG and Air France - KLM
Both IAG and AF-KLM are focusing on improving their balance sheets, after the ravages of COVID. Which company has the most work to do?
More record profits at IAG in Q3
Q3 pre-tax profits at IAG of €1.7 billion set a new record for a single quarter. But the company’s share price remains mired in the doldrums. What is going on?
Record second quarter results at IAG
IAG posted a record-breaking set of results for Q2, confirming the strength of the profit recovery on the back of very strong unit revenues. What do the results imply about the outlook for the full year?
A roundup of post-pandemic European airline results
The year to March 2023 is the first relatively "clean" twelve month period since the pandemic. Now that we have the numbers from all the big players, what do they tell us about who has emerged as the biggest, and who is doing the best?
March quarter results from Ryanair and EasyJet
Results from Ryanair today and EasyJet last week rounded out the figures for Europe's biggest airline companies. As the first clear twelve month period "post pandemic", what did they reveal about the state of play in Europe's airline industry?
Another £342m of pre-tax losses at Virgin
Virgin Atlantic reported its sixth straight year of losses in 2022. How did the £342m pre tax loss compare to rival BA? And how well is Virgin set up to achieve its goal of delivering sustainable profitability in the future?
IAG surprises the market (and itself) with positive Q1 results
IAG beat their own guidance for first quarter 2023 operating profits by more than €200m. Whilst the shares edged higher in response, market reaction was muted as management seems strangely reluctant to talk positively about the outlook for the full year.
Comparing European airline cargo results for 2022
The cargo divisions of airlines are usually overshadowed by their more glamorous colleagues in the passenger business. But as European airlines continue to report record cargo profits, I decided to take a look at how the big three groups did in 2022.
IAG full year results
IAG reported its first full year profit for three years last week, with operating profits of €1.2 billion and a pre-tax profit of €415m. How did the results compare to European peers? Which airlines within the group did best? And what other interesting nuggets of information were buried in the small print?
Assessing Q3 performance from the European LCCs
Ryanair reported bumper profits of €1.4 billion for its September quarter yesterday. How well did its results stack up against the other European low-cost airlines?
European airline groups back to profit in Q3
The big three European network airlines groups reported their first solid profits for three years in the third quarter. Which of their airline brands are doing the best?
Normalising Q2 results for fuel and emissions hedging
Fuel hedging policies had a dramatic impact on Q2 airline results in Europe. Which airlines delivered the best results? And how much of that was down to hedging policies?
Massive losses at Wizz
All three of the big European low-cost airlines reported their June quarter results this week. Despite the company's attempts to present a positive picture, the figures from Wizz were truly awful.
Qatar Airways returns to profit
Qatar Airways surprised many people by reporting a $1.55 billion pre-tax profit for their financial year ending in March 2022. With almost every airline in the world recording losses due to the pandemic, how did they do it?
A performance comparison of the European LCCs
Back in 2020, I analysed the relative performance of the three big European low-cost carriers in the final 12 months before the pandemic hit. With all three having now reported figures up to March 2022, I revisited my analysis to see what had changed.
Big losses announced at easyJet
Despite clocking up another £0.5 billion of losses over the last six months, things are finally starting to look up for easyJet on the demand side, enabling it to begin to close the gap in performance that opened up against its rivals during the pandemic.
Virgin versus British Airways - who did better in 2021?
Virgin Atlantic has published a pre-tax loss figure of £594m for 2021. How did its performance compare to that of arch-rival, British Airways?