Boardroom Conversation – Dealing with volatility in a high-cost environment

Slowing global economic growth. Increased costs for trade. Higher inflation expectations. Falling consumer confidence. Growing geopolitical fragmentation. Recent global policy shifts are amplifying uncertainty in what was already a fraught global landscape. None of this points to a rosy outlook for airlines, either in terms of travel demand, operational performance or profitability for the sector. This panel will convene C-level airline executives to examine the most pressing issues that are changing the calculus of their long term planning.

• Given the industry's notoriously thin margins, what tools are at airlines' disposal to deal with volatility in areas like fuel costs and exchange rates? How do airlines deal with inflationary pressures around other costs?

• Does geopolitical fragmentation mean a realignment of global networks? Will airlines in some regions have to make substantial capacity redeployments if politics make some connections unprofitable?

• Will more capacity pivot to emerging air transport markets, which are already growing rapidly? How do airlines deal with the potential for instability that is present in many of these markets?

• In the face of ongoing supply chain disruptions affecting aircraft deliveries and overhauls, how can airlines ensure they can get the maximum out of their existing fleets?