![Lewis Harper](https://d3lcr32v2pp4l1.cloudfront.net/Pictures/80x80/P/Pictures%2Fweb%2Fe%2Fc%2Fu%2Ffgteamportraits016_757370.jpg)
Lewis Harper
Based in London, Lewis has been editor of Airline Business since 2021, having joined the publication as managing editor in 2016. His reporting covers the global airline sector, with Europe a key focus. Lewis also edits the Airline Business Newsletter and Airline Business’s daily publications at industry events, and he co-hosts the Airline Business Podcast. He previously worked in senior production roles at FlightGlobal and a variety of publications covering industries such as chemicals and defence.
Contact info
- Airline Business
Week 19 2024: Talking points as Korean carriers and Cebu Pacific release earnings
The earnings season continues to have an international flavour this week
- Airline Business
Why IndiGo believes time is right for widebody move with A350 order
IndiGo’s recently announced firm order for 30 Airbus A350-900s and 70 options marks the latest headline-grabbing move from an airline that is keen to make use of its unusually solid foundations in India’s often unforgiving airline market.
- Airline Business
China factor continues to have big impact on airline industry recovery trends
IATA’s latest monthly data on passenger demand continues to show mostly double-digit year-on-year rises in traffic and capacity, reflecting an industry that still spent much of 2023 playing catch-up with pre-Covid levels, particularly in international markets.
- Analysis
Air France-KLM looks past tricky first quarter towards ‘promising’ summer
Air France-KLM’s latest earnings release essentially left the group in a holding pattern for the coming year in financial terms, with executives expecting better times in the subsequent nine months after tricky operating conditions and one-off costs dented its early 2024 performance.
- News
Air France-KLM reports deeper first-quarter loss after operational disruption
Air France-KLM’s operating loss deepened in the first quarter of 2024, as “exceptional” operational disruptions and falling cargo revenue dented the European airline group’s performance.
- Airline Business
Week 17 2024: US carriers join Boeing in outlining first-quarter performance
This week sees US carriers continue their earnings season, with American Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Southwest Airlines all due to report.
- Airline Business
Why United’s ‘moat’ gives Kirby confidence high margins are structural
When United Airlines beat analyst expectations this week with a smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss and higher-than-expected revenues, one person who was not surprised was chief executive Scott Kirby.
- Airline Business
Resist political pressure to renege on ESG commitments
The airline industry must not be tempted to undo its achievements so far on workforce diversity and the huge net-zero challenge by embracing the regressive policies favoured by politicians who might soon hold the balance of power in some geographies
- Airline Business
Week 16 2024: Has Delta set bar impossibly high?
Delta Air Lines kicked off the latest quarterly earnings season last week with a message so positive that it almost feels inevitable that sentiment only has one direction to travel as more airlines reveal their first-quarter 2024 performances.
- Newsletter
Why Brazil’s airlines are welcoming ‘great dialogue’ with government
Brazil’s airlines are continuing to navigate tough market conditions, but there are signs that the government is listening to their concerns and may be about to offer at least $1.2 billion in new credit lines amid rising capital costs in the country.
- Analysis
IATA global airline traffic leaps above 2019 for first time during longer February
Global airline traffic among the IATA membership in February exceeded pre-Covid levels for the first time since the pandemic, aided by the leap year adding an extra day to the month.
- Newsletter
Greater Bay Airlines chief executive appointment reflects greater trend
The appointment of a new chief executive at a small carrier in Hong Kong might not have created many headlines this week, but it does offer another concrete example of a growing trend among the world’s airlines.
- Analysis
Airlines accelerate hiring of women to top executive roles from low base
The industry has been employing more women in the C-suite for some time now, but new data hints at the pace of change quickening after years of glacial progress, with positive steps continuing into the first few months of 2024
- Analysis
European airlines cite Chinese access to Russian airspace as they seek ‘level playing field’
Europe’s airlines are keen for authorities to address the competitive advantage that Chinese carriers currently experience in being able to fly through Russian airspace, as part of a broader push for what they call a “level playing field” with international competitors.
- Newsletter
Europe’s airlines heartened by sharp change in perception of industry
Thanks to its founding mission, Airlines for Europe (A4E) might be naturally inclined towards pointing out things that need improving in the policy and regulatory sphere, but the European airline association also used its annual summit on 20 March to highlight a fundamentally positive development for the region’s carriers.
- News
Fewer ‘spanners under floorboards’ but O’Leary still seeks Boeing improvements
Ryanair group chief executive Michael O’Leary has declared his confidence in the safety of Boeing 737 Max aircraft but says he still believes the airframer’s management team in Seattle needs to “get its act together”.
- News
IAG chief warns blocking consolidation could ‘destroy’ airlines
The chief executive of IAG has implored regualtors to allow consolidation to happen in Europe, arguing that the futures of some carriers are at risk if deals are blocked
- News
Air France-KLM boss hits out at unfair Dutch ‘greenwashing’ ruling
Air France-KLM chief executive Ben Smith has described a Dutch court ruling over alleged ‘greenwashing’ as unfair.
- News
’Like lipstick on a pig’: Ryanair chief slams Single European Sky reforms
Ryanair group chief executive Michael O’Leary has hit out at the European Union’s reforms of its Single European Sky initiative, branding them as “useless”.
- News
’ITA deserves a future’: Lufthansa chief
Lufthansa Group chief executive Carsten Spohr is “optimistic” about the business securing a stake in Italian carrier ITA Airways as the European Commissions nears a crucial stage of its investigation into the deal.