North American aviation outlook: optimism prevails for (early) 2019

North American airlines have a reasonably positive outlook for 2019 even as uncertainty over trade and fuel lingers, and as predictions of a recession in 2020 gain momentum.

Fuel prices are fluctuating wildly as 2018 comes to a close, which means most airlines are pledging to keep their capacity growth rational during 2019 and should stick to those promises.

For now, most of North America's largest international operators feel optimistic about the performance of their international markets in 2019, with the exception of a couple of weak areas. Those airlines also cite strong corporate demand trends heading into 2019 even as stock markets are enduring wild swings in their performance.