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The Lufthansa Group has announced a number of senior leadership appointments across its brands - particularly Edelweiss, Eurowings and Lufthansa City Airlines. Edelweiss Edi Wolfensberger will become the new CEO of the Swiss leisure airline Edelweiss as of 1 October 2026. He will succeed Bernd Bauer, who is leaving the Lufthansa Group. Edi Wolfensberger has served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Eurowings to date. The Swiss national began his career in the aviation indust

Aer Lingus has posted an operating loss of €34m for the first half of 2026, compared to an operating profit of €80m for the same period last year. The operating profit for the second quarter of 2026 was €69m, compared to an operating profit of €135m in the second quarter of 2025. This followed an operating loss of €103m in the first three months of this year. Aer Lingus’ costs increased by 8% in the first half and passenger revenue decreased by 3%. While passenger numbers inc

Global air travel demand fell by 1.7%, year-on-year, in June - driven by slowdowns in major markets and the lasting effect of the Middle East conflict on consumer confidence - latest month data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows. Outgoing IATA Director General, Willie Walsh, said: “Global demand for air travel was down 1.7% in June compared to 2025. This is largely due to domestic market declines in China, the US, and Japan, and weak but improving i

Lufthansa Group has formally submitted a bid to Parpública, the Portuguese state-owned investment company, as part of the bidding process for TAP Air Portugal. The acquisition of an initial minority stake is intended to establish a long-term partnership between the Lufthansa Group and TAP Air Portugal in order to secure TAP’s successful future as Portugal’s national airline on a sustainable basis. Carsten Spohr, CEO of the Lufthansa Group, said: “The Lufthansa Group stands fo

Dutch airline KLM has reported a financial improvement, but has stressed it is not sufficient for its long-term stability. For the first half of this year, KLM’s operating result reached €68m – an improvement of €92m, year-on-year – and achieved an 8% increase in revenue to €6.9bn. Despite this improvement, KLM said, the result is still not good enough to strengthen the financial foundation of KLM for the future. "In a market characterised by geopolitical uncertainty, fluctua

Crowne Plaza, InterContinental and Holiday Inn owner IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG) has announced the beta launch of AI-powered conversational search on IHG.com and the IHG One Rewards mobile app, marking a new chapter in the evolution of the travel discovery experience. The new conversational search functionality brings intuitive, customized trip planning directly into IHG’s digital channels, making it easier and faster than ever for guests to move seamlessly from inspiration an

Radisson Hotel Group has collaborated with Accenture in launching an AI-powered hotel discovery app in ChatGPT, helping travellers move from trip intent to search, comparison and planning through natural conversation. Available as @RadissonHotels in ChatGPT, the app enables travellers to search for Radisson Hotels properties across over 100 countries, and more than 1,000 hotels through natural conversation. Through starting a new ChatGPT conversation with @RadissonHotels at t

Shannon Airport is preparing for a busy August Bank Holiday, with more than 65,000 passengers expected to travel through the airport over the period. This represents an increase of 7% on the passenger numbers for the same period last year. The strong Bank Holiday forecast reflects Shannon Airport's continued growth in 2026. The airport welcomed 1.17 million passengers during the first six months of the year, a 12% increase on the same period in 2025. Growth has been supported

Hilton Hotels has reported a near 4% year-on-year jump in RevPAR (revenue per available room) – a key growth metric for the hotel industry – for the second quarter of this year. The hotel giant’s latest quarterly results also show $482m in net income and adjusted earnings growth of 5% - to $1.05bn. During the period, Hilton approved 42,900 new rooms for development; bringing its development pipeline to 541,300 rooms – a 6% jump, year-on-year. It also added 24,100 new rooms to

Emirates has announced cryptocurrency as a payment option for passengers; officially launching Crypto.com Pay™, allowing its customers to use the digital payment solution on the airline’s website and app platforms. Customers with a Crypto.com account booking on emirates.com and the Emirates App can now select Crypto.com Pay™ at checkout, with transactions processed securely and in compliance with UAE regulatory standards. Crypto.com Pay™ is available to eligible UAE residents

Virgin Atlantic has signed a definitive agreement with air taxi producer Joby Aviation to bring the latter's services to the UK. The agreement converts the partnership announced in 2025 into a binding, multi-year commercial framework, establishing Virgin Atlantic as Joby's exclusive airline partner for air taxi services in the UK. The collaboration builds on Joby's existing partnership with Delta Air Lines, which holds a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic, bringing together three b

TUI Blue has announced an expansion from just beach resort destinations into European city break destinations as well; with its first leisure hotels to open in Lisbon and Seville. The expansion marks a significant milestone in the brand's growth strategy and opens a new chapter for TUI Blue beyond its established portfolio of leisure hotels in beach, mountain and resort destinations. TUI Blue Sevilla Suites will become the first TUI Blue hotel to open in a European city. The

Leading Irish rental provider, Europcar, has launched a new fast-track care rental service at Dublin Airport. Available as an optional upgrade, the new Europcar Express service enables priority in-terminal pick-up allowing customers to simply collect their keys and get on the road without delay. Europcar Express capitalises on the latest digital innovation to carry out the essential identity and driving license checks online when a vehicle booking is made ahead of travel. Com

Cork Airport welcomed 342,387 passengers during June, latest monthly operational figures for the airport show. Passenger numbers in June were up 22% when compared to pre-COVID levels (June 2019). Since January 1, the airport has welcomed a total of 1,619,373 passengers which is showing a slight 1% decrease on the previous year – the airport’s busiest year ever. This represents a changing mix in 2026 versus 2025 with more KLM and Air France passengers and less Ryanair passenge

Emirates has reached a landmark 100 aircraft refurbished under its retrofit programme, the largest known undertaken by any airline globally. Since work began in November 2022, 47 Airbus A380s and 53 Boeing 777s have been given a complete nose-to-tail refresh at the Emirates Engineering hangars in Dubai. By the end of December 2026, around 20 additional aircraft will be upgraded, moving the airline significantly past the halfway point in its US$ 5 billion investment aimed at d

The Government has said it will formally remove the current 32 million person passenger limit “as soon as possible”, following President Connolly signing legislation allowing for the move into law. Transport Minister, Darragh O'Brien, said: “I am delighted that the Dublin Airport (Passenger Capacity) Act 2026 has passed into law. This Act recognises the strategic importance of Dublin Airport as our primary international gateway, and delivers on the Programme for Government co

ternational Air Transport Association (IATA) has released the latest edition of the World Air Transport Statistics (WATS), providing comprehensive statistical data through to 2025. Updated annually, WATS provides data related to demand, supply, and operational performance. WATS also includes data collections on the global airline fleet, top routes, employment, and financial performance (costs and revenues). WATS incorporates data from the 1,315 airlines in the IATA Annual Sta

Aer Lingus is to cut four US routes in a major cost cutting plan. The airline has said its Dublin-Las Vegas, Dublin-Denver, Dublin-Seattle, and Dublin-Minneapolis routes will be discontinued later this year. The move could also see as many as 500 jobs under threat across Aer Lingus’ head office, cabin crew and pilot departments. The airline is looking to stabilise its operating margins in order to attract ongoing investment. In all, Aer Lingus will be reducing its annual flig

Etihad Airways has announced a further enhancement to its onboard experience – with it extending its complimentary WiFi to passengers in its Business Comfort class. From today, complimentary Wi‑Fi access will be extended to Business Comfort customers, in addition to the existing entitlements for First cabin guests, Etihad Guest Platinum Members, Business Deluxe and Economy Deluxe guests. Etihad said: “This enhancement reflects our ongoing commitment to delivering exceptional

Radisson Hotel Group continued to accelerate its growth strategy in the first half of 2026, signing and opening 160 hotels, representing more than 22,000 rooms. During the first half of the year, the group strengthened its presence across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific through a combination of signings, openings, market entries, and brand extensions. Activity continues to be driven by a diversified portfolio spanning luxury, lifestyle, upscale, resort, conv