DBRS warns of tough H2 2023 for airlines

Credit rating business DBRS Morningstar expects the global airline industry to benefit from the return to pre-pandemic travel and the relaxation of China’s ‘zero Covid’ regime but warns the sector is vulnerable to recession and falling consumer spending power. While airlines are likely to continue on a “path toward normalisation” in 2023, DBRS said in a January 17 report, the second half of the year (H2 2023) “could be tough for airlines because consumers may pull back from nonessential spending as they feel the full heat of a macroeconomic downturn and reduced purchasing power”. Citing the slow return to pre-pandemic