Europe's two largest airline groups both beat second-quarter profit expectations but trimmed their growth ambitions for the year, as the fuel bill from the Iran conflict reshapes strategy across a sector now prizing yield over expansion. IAG, owner of British Airways and Iberia, reported on Friday a 16 per cent drop in second-quarter profit, dragged down by soaring fuel costs and softer demand linked to the war that erupted at the end of February. The result nonetheless came

Europe's two largest airline groups have laid rival binding bids on the table for a stake in TAP Air Portugal, setting up a decisive contest for what is widely seen as the final major flag-carrier consolidation prize left in Western Europe. Air France-KLM and Lufthansa Group both submitted binding offers to Portugal's state holding company Parpública by Tuesday's deadline, entering the third and final mandatory stage of a privatisation relaunched by Lisbon in 2025. The field

Airbus reports half-year results after the European market close on Wednesday, in a release that will test whether the delivery recovery of recent months can carry the planemaker to an ambitious full-year target, and one now framed by a fresh capital-return pledge and open questions over who leads the company into its next chapter. The Toulouse group publishes its H1 figures alongside an analyst call at 19:30 CEST. Investors want confirmation that the second-quarter pace is d

Airbus heads into first-half results on Wednesday with its delivery machine visibly back in rhythm, even as the supplier bottlenecks that dogged the year's opening months continue to shape how far the European planemaker can push its production ambitions. The Toulouse group delivered 351 commercial aircraft in the first half, up around 15 per cent on the 306 handed over a year earlier and its strongest January-to-June showing since 2019. Momentum built through the period, wit

Brussels is preparing to tighten scrutiny of who really controls Europe's airlines, a move that has wiped billions from easyJet's valuation and injected fresh uncertainty into the largest private equity approach the sector has seen. An EU official confirmed the European Commission will conduct a review, likely in the autumn, clarifying which corporate structures satisfy rules requiring carriers holding EU operating licences to be majority owned and effectively controlled by E

Airbus has signalled it intends to set the pace of the next narrowbody cycle, with chief executive Guillaume Faury confirming the European planemaker remains committed to launching a successor to its best-selling A320 family in 2030, even as Boeing wavers over the timing of its own next aircraft. Speaking to Aviation Week, Faury said the programme, known internally as eAction, is on track for a formal launch decision at the end of the decade, with entry into service targeted