Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 92: Kiwis and Kangaroos

Life is good in Australasia—especially if you’re Qantas or Air New Zealand. Both carriers are enjoying a bit of a golden age that stems from good management and some macro tailwinds. Meanwhile, Virgin Australia, seemingly unable to catch those tailwinds, drifted toward a disheartening 2% operating profit margin in 2017. Scandinavia’s SAS, meanwhile, had a negative margin that really wasn’t disheartening, because it was a small loss (-3%) and came during the airline’s always-difficult fourth quarter. Avianca managed to profit despite a painful pilot strike. And finally, Seth Kaplan caught up with Qatar Airways Vice President of the Americas Günter Saurwein to chat about the new airline's business-class product and much more.