Alex Macheras

London

Aviation Analyst, Consultant & Advisor at Freelance

Aviation Analyst, Consultant. Broadcasting #Aviation News @LBC @SkyNews @BBC @AlJazeera @ITV ✈️ Columnist Gulf-Times 🎧 Host of ‘On-Air’ Podcast 🎙️

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Articles

When airspace closes: Inside Qatar Airways’ Unprecedented Operational Response

3 days ago | gulf-times.com | Alex Macheras

In the world of global aviation, disruption is a given. Weather, technical issues, strikes, and geopolitical tensions occasionally conspire to test even the most robust airline operations. But what unfolded in the skies above Qatar on June 23, 2025 was not just another operational hiccup.
Airlines ‘agile’ amid geopolitical disruptions

1 week ago | gulf-times.com | Alex Macheras

There is no industry more exposed to the world’s chaos than commercial aviation. While volatility affects every global sector in some form, few are as susceptible to external, uncontrollable shocks as airlines. Whether it’s an overnight closure of Iran and Iraq’s airspace, a fuel price spike, a volcano in Iceland, or $1.3bn of blocked revenue trapped by foreign governments, the modern airline is perpetually operating in a state of calculated adaptation.
Trapped capital: The $1.3bn threat to airline connectivity

2 weeks ago | gulf-times.com | Alex Macheras

As of April 2025, a staggering $1.3bn in airline revenues remain trapped across a handful of countries—funds that airlines have earned through the sale of tickets and services but are unable to repatriate due to government-imposed restrictions.
A321: The single aisle transforming airline economics

3 weeks ago | gulf-times.com | Alex Macheras

The Airbus A321neo family has emerged as one of the most transformative aircraft platforms in commercial aviation history. In an industry increasingly shaped by volatility, tight margins, and recalibrated post-pandemic demand, the A321neo and its longer-range siblings—the A321LR and A321XLR—are giving airlines tools to surgically expand into secondary markets that would have been commercially unviable using widebody jets or even traditional narrowbodies just a decade ago.
Stronger air-rail partnerships encouraged

1 month ago | gulf-times.com | Alex Macheras

Governments across Europe are pressing ahead with ambitious climate policies, and the transport sector – among the continent’s largest carbon emitters – has become a central focus. Aviation, in particular, continues to face political pressure, as countries introduce taxes, bans on short-haul flights, and stricter emissions targets. But as calls for greener travel intensify, something more nuanced is taking shape: A shift not from air to rail, but a blending of both.
Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways post strong profits

1 month ago | gulf-times.com | Alex Macheras

This week, the 2024–2025 fiscal year results has spotlighted the diverging fortunes of two of aviation’s most globally renowned carriers: Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways. While both airlines declared record-breaking profits, the similarities end there. Beneath the surface, their respective performances were shaped by contrasting strategies, market dynamics, and external pressures.
India-Pakistan tensions disrupt global aviation

1 month ago | gulf-times.com | Alex Macheras

The skies over South Asia, among the most strategically significant corridors in international air travel, are once again caught in the crossfire of geopolitics. Amid deadly border clashes between India and Pakistan, a cascade of airspace closures, airport disruptions and hasty re-routings is imposing fresh burdens on airlines, passengers, and global aviation networks already stretched by existing geopolitical no-go zones.
A350 set to debut ‘Qsuite Next Gen’ as Boeing 777X delays continue

1 month ago | gulf-times.com | Alex Macheras

Qatar Airways’ next-generation business class — Qsuite Next Gen — was supposed to make its world debut on the Boeing 777X, the ultra-modern widebody flagship from the American manufacturer that, for years, promised to redefine long-haul travel. But as delays to the 777X programme stretch into their fifth year, Qatar Airways is recalibrating. The launch of Qsuite Next Gen will now likely take place on the Airbus A350-1000, not the 777X.
The costly fallout from Heathrow Airport’s substation fire

Mar 26, 2025 | gulf-times.com | Alex Macheras

Last week, Heathrow Airport — the busiest aviation hub in Europe — came to an extraordinary standstill. An external fire at the North Hyde electrical substation in Hayes, west London, triggered a power outage that crippled airport systems, grounded hundreds of flights, and disrupted global air travel. The event sent shockwaves across the aviation industry and exposed critical vulnerabilities in the infrastructure supporting one of the world’s most important transport gateways.
Korean Air’s completely refreshed corporate identity

Mar 12, 2025 | gulf-times.com | Alex Macheras

Korean Air is set to undergo one of the most significant transformations in its history. In what marks its first major rebranding in over four decades, the airline is rolling out a completely refreshed corporate identity, a new aircraft livery, upgraded lounges, and enhanced in-flight services.