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Ryanair faces a bigger fuel bill, China's airlines report weaker earnings, Alaska Air plans job cuts and Nantes launches five routes.
Ryanair’s latest results have brought the cost of jet fuel back to the centre of the airline industry’s financial debate. The Irish carrier is considering savings ahead of a potentially much larger fuel bill, while new figures from China show how difficult it has become to protect margins. Alaska Air is preparing to cut office-based jobs. Away from the balance sheets, Nantes Airport has completed a week of new international route launches.
Ryanair weighs pay restraint as it braces for higher fuel costs
Ryanair reported a 6% fall in quarterly after-tax profit to €1.61 billion on Monday 2 November. Average fares were 2% lower than a year earlier in the July-to-September quarter, but the airline’s greater concern lies beyond the current financial year. Chief executive Michael O’Leary told Reuters that the group could face roughly €2 billion in additional fuel expenditure in the year ending March 2028 if forward prices remain elevated.
Management is considering several responses, including negotiations over airport costs, more efficient crewing and possible temporary pay restraint. None of those options should be mistaken for an agreed company-wide wage freeze. Ryanair has hedged 80% of its fuel requirements through March 2027 at about $67 a barrel, but its coverage for the following year is substantially lower. The airline expects European short-haul fares to rise markedly next year, although higher ticket prices may not fully absorb the extra fuel costs.
Source: Reuters, Ryanair results and management comments, 2 November 2026.
China’s largest airlines face another year of losses
Fresh quarterly figures underline the strain on China’s three biggest carriers. Air China’s third-quarter profit fell 92.6% to 270.6 million yuan, while China Eastern earned just 64 million yuan, a decline of 98.2%. China Southern posted a quarterly loss of 609 million yuan. All three companies recorded losses over the first nine months of 2026, despite having been profitable over the corresponding period a year earlier, according to a Reuters review published on 2 November.
China Eastern’s own third-quarter filing, released on 30 October, shows revenue increasing 8.18% to 42.832 billion yuan even as net profit almost disappeared. High jet-fuel prices have combined with weak domestic ticket yields and competition from high-speed rail. Analysts now expect the major carriers to remain loss-making for the full year, but those forecasts are not yet final annual results. The figures show how passenger demand and earnings can diverge when airlines struggle to pass higher costs on through fares.
Sources: Reuters, Chinese airline earnings analysis, 2 November 2026; China Eastern, third-quarter 2026 company filing published by Shanghai Securities News.
Alaska Air plans 200 office job cuts amid fuel-price pressure
Alaska Air Group said on 30 October that it planned to eliminate around 200 non-contract positions, representing less than 1% of its workforce. Reuters reported that the affected posts include 125 in Washington state and 48 in Hawaii. Frontline operational employees are not part of the announced reduction. Those affected are expected to finish work on 13 November, with pay continuing until the end of December and severance support available.
Chief executive Ben Minicucci warned staff that Alaska could face an annual loss of as much as $700 million if current conditions persist. The company estimates that higher fuel prices could add $1.8 billion to its costs this year. This is a conditional warning rather than a confirmed loss. Alaska says it intends to continue investing in its fleet and network while tightening overhead expenditure, illustrating how rising costs can affect staffing even when passenger revenue is growing.
Source: Reuters, Alaska Air Group staffing announcement, 30 October 2026.
Nantes completes five new international route launches in six days
Nantes Atlantique Airport has reported five new direct services launched between 26 and 31 October. easyJet began flights to Brussels on 26 October, operating on Mondays and Fridays, and to Essaouira in Morocco the following day, with Tuesday and Saturday departures. Transavia added a weekly Wednesday service to Cairo on 28 October and Friday flights to São Vicente in Cape Verde on 30 October. easyJet’s new Saturday service to Luxor was scheduled to begin on 31 October.
The airport’s 30 October announcement brings together the first flights rather than simply listing routes for a future timetable. The additions connect western France directly with Belgium, Morocco, Egypt and Cape Verde. Published frequencies are those announced for the autumn and winter programme and remain subject to airline scheduling changes.
Source: Nantes Atlantique Airport, official release, 30 October 2026.
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