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TAP Air Portugal announced (30-Aug-2026) the appointment of José Eduardo Moreira as chief operating officer (COO), effective 01-Sep-2026. Mr Moreira previously served as general manager of maintenance and engineering, and succeeds Mário Chaves, who resigned from the role. TAP's board also includes chairman Carlos Nuno Alves de Oliveira, CEO Luis Manuel da Silva Rodrigues, Ana Teresa Cunha de Pinho Tavares Lehmann, João Pedro da Conceição Duarte, José Eduardo Russo Moreira, José Mario Cruz Henriquez, Maria João Santos Gomes Cardoso, Patrício Ramos Castro, Renato Teobaldo Rodrigues Inácio and Sofia Norton dos Reis Lufinha de Mello Franco. [more - original PR] [more - original PR - Portuguese]
Flughafen Zurich AG reported (28-Aug-2026) investments of CHF268.7 million (EUR286.65 million) in property, equipment, projects in progress, investment property and airport operator projects in 1H2026. The company allocated CHF202.3 million (EUR215.82 million) to Zurich Airport for infrastructure projects, including Dock A development, landside passenger zone enhancements and baggage sorting system refurbishment and expansion. Zurich Airport expects to handle 33 million passengers in 2026, up 3% year-on-year. Investments at the Zurich site are expected to reach approximately CHF400 million (EUR426.73 million) in 2026, with CHF100 million (EUR106.68 million) expected at subsidiaries abroad. Flughafen Zurich aims to generate revenues of over CHF3 billion (EUR3.20 billion) by 2040, corresponding to a compound annual growth rate of over 5%. [more - original PR]
Saudia and Garuda Indonesia signed (27-Aug-2026) a joint business framework agreement, expanding a MoU signed in Jul-2026. The planned joint business will create a broader travel corridor connecting Indonesia and Australia with Saudi Arabia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. The airlines' networks currently provide access to more than 120 destinations across these markets, with potential to expand connectivity through new routes and direct services to additional destinations. The partnership is expected to include full fare combinability, joint commercial initiatives, and closer cooperation across frequent flyer programmes, technology and airport services. The partnership will also prioritise Hajj and Umrah travel from Indonesia. The airlines will commence the regulatory approval process and proceed with the development of the remaining agreements required ahead of the planned launch of the joint business in 2027. [more - original PR]
Background ✨
Saudia and Garuda Indonesia previously signed an MoU to progress a joint business, building on existing codeshare cooperation and SkyTeam membership, and covering single-ticket travel, coordination of schedules and wider collaboration across loyalty, technology, airport services and Hajj/Umrah travel.1 Garuda also entered new and expanded partnership arrangements, including a codeshare with SAS from winter 2026/27 with reciprocal frequent flyer earning and redemption.2
IATA stated (28-Aug-2026) global jet fuel prices rose by 121% between Apr-2025 and Apr-2026, but not all airlines faced the same increase in their fuel costs. Details include:
Jet fuel is priced predominantly in US dollars, while many airlines earn most their revenue in a range of other currencies, so exchange rate movements "either amplified or mitigated the impact". Differences in regional jet fuel benchmarks meant that fuel prices did not rise by the same amount everywhere. As a result, the same global jet fuel shock translated into different outcomes across airline markets;
The largest jet fuel cost increases were recorded in markets where the regional jet fuel prices rose strongly, and where currencies weakened against the US dollar. Japan was among the most severely impacted, with an increase of 173% in the local currency price of jet fuel, driven by a 148% rise in the regional jet fuel price and a 10% depreciation of the yen. The local jet fuel price jumped by 170% in India, also due to an above average local jet fuel price and currency depreciation;
Several markets were partially shielded from the shock due to currency appreciation. The Brazilian real and the Mexican peso appreciated by approximately 15% against the US dollar, which, together with a "less severe" increase in the regional jet fuel price, limited the rise in the local currency price of jet fuel to 86%;
In the euro area, the stronger euro helped reduce the increase to 118%;
China was an exception, despite a stronger renminbi against the dollar, above average regional fuel price increases left airlines facing a local currency fuel price increase of 132%. [more - original PR]
Capital A CEO Tony Fernandes stated (27-Aug-2026) "Despite an extremely challenging operating environment, we continue to trek in the right direction financially, and we have a clear mandate to aggressively expand our businesses and third-party customer base, directly reducing reliance on our related airline group". Mr Fernandes said "strong business momentum" was led by Teleport and Asia Digital Engineering, which "continue to anchor the group's growth", noting: "Operational resilience across these core units successfully absorbed temporary top-line headwinds in consumer verticals, preserving solid underlying earnings and bottom-line profitability". He stated the company expects operating conditions in 2H2026 to require "continued agility as broader global and movement trends evolve", adding 3Q2026 is "generally a lean travel season; and management are actively prioritising our capital deployment and business plans to reflect that". Mr Fernandes concluded: "Overall, while geopolitical issues remain ongoing, we are doing everything possible to keep our full-year performance close to last year's results. Once these global tensions resolve, we expect operations to normalise and we are confident we will deliver the strong growth we typically achieve". [more - original PR]
Air New Zealand reported (28-Aug-2026) a loss before taxation of NZD336 million (USD200.1 million) for the 12 months ended 30-Jun-2026, compared with earnings before taxation of NZD164 million (USD97.7 million) in the prior year. The carrier reported a net loss after taxation of NZD242 million (USD144.1 million) for FY2026. Air New Zealand reported the result is "slightly better than the guidance range" provided to market in May-2026, attributing the performance to the following primary factors:
Jet fuel prices: The Middle East conflict increased fuel cost by an estimated NZD328 million (USD195.3 million) compared to the carrier's expectations prior to H2FY2026 - as well as by NZD205 million (USD122.1 million) after hedging - with an estimated NZD135 million (USD80.4 million) impact on the pre-tax result after fare adjustments and capacity reductions;
Engine availability: Ongoing Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 and Pratt & Whitney PW1100 engine issues impacted the result by an estimated NZD190 million (USD113.1 million) through lost capacity, additional lease and engine costs, lower fleet utilisation and operating inefficiencies;
Aviation system costs: New Zealand aviation costs have risen at more than twice the rate of inflation since 2019. Air New Zealand stated its share of these costs alongside its passengers and airports was NZD1.2 billion (USD714.5 million) in 2026, an increase of NZD142 million (USD84.6 million) compared to 2025. The carrier stated that of this, approximately NZD720 million (USD428.7 million) was recognised as a cost in its financial statements in 2026 - a price increase of approximately NZD83 million (USD49.4 million) compared to 2025;
Maintenance: 2026 was a peak aircraft maintenance year, with an increase of NZD139 million (USD82.8 million), excluding foreign exchange, compared to 2025 - driven by lifecycle maintenance costs and additional maintenance costs on leased engines.
Air New Zealand CEO Nikhil Ravishankar stated: "It's been a very challenging year for aviation, and our financial result reflects these challenges. Given the price sensitivity of air travel, airlines globally have not been able to recover the full increase in fuel costs". Mr Ravishankar added: "We have also taken decisive action to simplify parts of the organisation and evolve our operating model, including restructuring across a number of areas to reduce duplication, sharpen accountability and improve productivity. We have retrofitted nine out of 14 of our Boeing787 fleet - and the new interior product is resonating very well with customers. The remaining 787 fleet fit-out will be completed by November this year, slightly ahead of schedule". He continued: "After several years of disruption, the engine challenges that have constrained our network are now substantially behind us... There are still residual risks and costs to work through, but we enter 2027 in a considerably more reliable fleet position". [more - original PR] [more - Aviation Week]
Thailand's Government and New Zealand's Government signed (21-Aug-2026) a joint declaration to launch a strategic partnership between the two countries. Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced: "Thai Airways plans to resume direct flights between Bangkok and Auckland, targeted for Mar-2027", adding: "This renewed connectivity will support tourism, trade, business, education and people-to-people exchanges". New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon commented: "Thai Airways served Auckland for more than 30 years before the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the service. Its return is great news for tourism and trade - making it easier to connect, restoring an important air-freight link and strengthening connections through Bangkok to wider Asia". There are no operators on the Bangkok-Auckland route at present, according to OAG. [more - original PR] [more - original PR - II]
Background ✨
Thailand and New Zealand’s leaders previously agreed to upgrade bilateral ties to a strategic partnership by 2026, while also backing the resumption of direct air services and visa facilitation, targeting 100,000 New Zealand visitors to Thailand and 40,000 Thai tourists to New Zealand by 2025.1
ACI Asia-Pacific and Middle East later confirmed Thai Airways’ intention to resume daily Bangkok Suvarnabhumi-Auckland services from 2H2026, noting the route supported about 50,000 New Zealand visitors in 2019 from markets including Thailand, India and Europe.2
Air India received (21-Aug-2026) approval from India's Government to expand implementation of its new cargo transshipment policy, which "allows eligible cargo shipments to remain securely packed during transit, eliminating the need for piece-level re-screening and significantly reducing connection times and handling requirements", to eligible shipments originating from Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai and connecting via Delhi to Copenhagen, Frankfurt and London Heathrow. Air India implemented the policy on a trial basis on the Chennai-Delhi-Frankfurt air cargo corridor on 20-Jun-2026, and recorded a more than 100% increase in average cargo volumes per day and a reduction in the average cargo connection time at Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport from 36-48 hours to five to eight hours. Air India head of cargo Ramesh Mamidala stated: "This reformed cargo transshipment policy has the potential to be a game-changer for India's air cargo sector", adding: "By enabling seamless cargo transfers through Delhi, it can help attract transit traffic that currently moves through foreign gateways, unlock additional cargo volumes for Air India, and significantly improve aircraft belly utilisation across our expanding network". [more - original PR]
Background ✨
Air India partnered with cargo.one, enabling freight forwarders to quote and book general cargo up to 2500kg on its international services between India and markets including Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Zurich, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo.1 Air India also completed its first airport-to-door international cargo delivery, moving six tonnes of pharmaceuticals from Delhi to Brussels via Paris CDG.2
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Research Publications
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