Despite the inconveniences, some airlines are starting to make a profit once more. This is the case of Lufthansa, of which Brussels Airlines is a part – at least for the first six months of the year. Would airlines still fly to better financial health? Jean Collard nuance: “there is a cash flow, but that does not mean that the airlines will benefit”.
Because the losses are still relevant in the sector: “ethey stay in the red. Clearly, we are still expecting a loss of the order of seven billion for the current year at the level of IATA companies, therefore of the International Air Transport Organization. There will therefore still be a loss, even if the cash flow has improved, because there is a very rapid rise in demand. But will this demand remain constant by the end of the year?“
There is a cash flow, but that does not mean that the airlines will benefit
Nothing is less certain… An unstable geopolitical plan, fluctuating oil costs… “In everyday life, it has a considerable impact on our lives and our expenses. It is therefore clear that in the current context, following two years of Covid, people have done everything to go on vacation. But when we come back to earth – forgive me the expression – in the field of aviation, there is the reality that will catch up with us very quickly”. The companies would be for Jean Collard “particularly attentive to this”. “We must not forget that an aircraft is made to fly. If it is on the ground, these are considerable costs. So there is a certain reluctance on the part of airlines to put a whole fleet on the road, to lease what are called white tails, that is to say planes that would be available on the market, because once they are leased, but they can no longer be flown from October or November…”
When we come back to earth — forgive me the expression — […] reality will catch up with us very quickly
This would generate considerable costs. In the current context, airlines are taken aback. “But at the same time, we have such a bottleneck because there has been such an influx of liquidity over a very short period of time—personally, I’ve never seen that—especially in Europe. This means that the companies are effectively overwhelmed and that there are many planes that remain on the ground. Not to mention all the problems we are experiencing in the field which is directly linked to the working conditions of flight personnel and pilots…”.