Boardroom Conversation - The end of cyclicality? Managing downturns, acting rationally and not waiting for recovery.

Cyclicality has long been a bugbear of the airline industry. When the speed of travel growth has slowed down, airlines have historically witnessed steep losses. Their responses have generally been to trim schedules and networks, reduce workforces and reduce spending until good times arrive again. However, the latest outlooks for the industry stand in defiance of these historical trends. While the industry faces more than its fair share of challenges, overall expectations have remained healthy and positive even in the face of lowered expectations around economic growth, global political uncertainty and retreating confidence in consumers.

• Has the airline industry finally managed to crack the code when it comes to the cyclicality of the business, or is there something else going on?

• What are the key lessons that the sector has drawn from recent crises and downturns? What are the weak-points that are still yet to be addressed?

• Given that no-one knows how long a crisis is going to last or how deep it will go, how does the industry respond proportionately in the face of challenges?

• With such volumes of information available to airline leaders, what do they look at and where do they turn when a crisis is brewing. Are AI business and decision making tools at a point where they can help in such situations, or is there a risk of garbage-in, garbage-out and being overwhelmed by the details?