Overview
- The airline group lowered its 2026 growth plan to 2%–4% seat capacity and warned of a €940 million fuel cost hit in the second quarter.
- Quarter one showed an operating loss of €27 million on €7.5 billion in revenue, with the fuel spike not yet visible because airlines pay on a pricing delay.
- For the full year, management now projects a $9.3 billion fuel bill, up $2.4 billion from 2025, with hedges expected to soften the impact by about $1.5 billion.
- To protect margins, the company froze hiring for non-operational roles, cut discretionary spending, and raised ticket surcharges, which points to higher fares and tighter budgets for staff.
- Beyond short-term fixes, the group is pursuing a possible minority stake in TAP Air Portugal, settling €368 million in EU cargo-cartel fines, and pressing on with fleet renewal toward an 80% new-generation share by 2030.