AirBaltic chief executive Martin Gauss rejects the idea that the Riga, Latvia-based airline might fall into what IATA chief economist senior Brian Pearce described as “a long trail of weaker airlines” in Europe that could follow the fate of Wow Air, Flybmi, Thomas Cook Airlines UK, Aigle Azur, XL Airways, and Adria Airways, all of which filed for bankruptcy this year. Speaking at the recent IATA Wings of Change Europe conference in Berlin, Pearce predicted more operators on the continent will fail and airlines will need stronger balance sheets as consumer confidence and the business outlook dims. Although Gauss doesn’t see an immediate reversal in the industry’s fortunes, he disagrees with the predictions of a broad meltdown. “We are closer to a downturn than an upturn and I do see [fewer] airlines in Europe. But I do not agree with my colleagues [CEOs of Europe’s largest airlines] that there will be only four of five airlines here,” he told AIN. “If we would have an economic downturn, we will be able to adjust faster than others because of the 150-seater aircraft we have focused our business plan on.”
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