Airlines are hoping 2026 is a short, sharp fuel shock, but with supply routes at risk and fewer policy tools available, this crisis could last longer and test demand in ways recent history hasn’t.
Global travel demand remains resilient, but the strongest growth opportunities are concentrated in emerging markets, where higher travel intent and rising spending power are driving faster momentum than in mature regions.
The Middle East fuel crisis has accidentally made the case for SAF better than any policy ever did — and revealed exactly why the industry can't act on it.
The plane in this deal isn't what will trouble Airbus and Boeing – it's the customer. Vietjet is exactly the kind of fast-growing, Western-aligned operator that Comac needs if it wants to prove its jets can sell anywhere other than China.
Lufthansa had CityLine marked for eventual closure before the Iran war. Soaring fuel prices and labor unrest just ripped away any remaining patience for a gradual wind-down.