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prices, the impact on airfares will be greater than the hike in headline oil prices suggests because this is not what buyers are paying. Oil analyst Amrita Sen noted


crude oil in Asia was fetching “between $150 and $170 a barrel” late last week, not the headline $90-$100 price, while jet fuel prices had “soared above $200 per barrel”. She warned: “The real price of oil is the price refiners and sellers are transacting at and that they will pass through to consumers.” A second analyst noted


oil from the Gulf would take up to 45 days to reach Europe even when flows resume and suggested: “It’s time to think through what ‘running out of oil’ might look like.” The impact on consumer


spending is becoming clearer. A Deloitte Consumer Tracker released on Monday showed the biggest fall in consumer confidence in four years, not helped by a 7.2 percentage point fall in confidence in disposable income and a similar drop in discretionary spending despite an increase in spending on travel in the run-up to Easter. An Office for National


Statistics survey likewise found two-thirds of UK adults (67%) reported their cost of living increased in March. Management consultancy


Bain, in an analysis of the war’s impact on aviation demand, proposed two scenarios: a speedy end to the war with a full recovery “by early 2027” and fare increases taking “18 months to unwind”; or an extended war “with effects lingering to 2029 [and] a significant structural pricing increase”.


Lufthansa cuts capacity as easyJet losses widen


Ian Taylor


Lufthansa became the first major European airline to announce capacity cuts due to rising fuel prices and potential shortages caused by the war on Iran, while easyJet warned of a significant half-year loss. The Lufthansa Group announced


swingeing cuts to the German carrier’s schedule and fleet, accelerating plans to axe regional carrier Lufthansa CityLine – with its 27 aircraft to be “permanently removed from the flight programme” starting “immediately”. Lufthansa announced medium-term plans to wind up the loss-making German domestic and European short-haul subsidiary 14 months ago. Lufthansa will also cut its


long-haul capacity from October by removing six wide-body aircraft from its fleet and reduce short-haul and medium-haul capacity for winter 2026-27, grounding five more aircraft. The group announced a “further reduction of costs [on] staff


recruitment, internal events and external consulting services” on top of existing plans to cut 4,000 administrative roles by 2030. Lufthansa noted it is 80% hedged


on fuel but the remaining 20% “must be purchased at significantly increased prices”. Group chief financial officer Till


Streichert said: “We had already identified the prospective removal of CityLine. The current crisis is forcing us to implement this measure earlier.” The previously announced


cuts have led to industrial action, with hundreds of Lufthansa flights cancelled on April 16-17 due to the latest two-day strike by pilots.


Munich Airport EasyJet served notice it would


report a pre-tax loss of up to £560 million for the six months to March – including £25 million in additional fuel costs for March due to the war – compared with a £394 million loss the previous year. The conflict had introduced “near-


term uncertainty around fuel costs and customer demand” resulting in “lower than normal forward visibility” on bookings, the airline said in a trading update, although it insisted: “EasyJet remains well positioned to manage this volatility.” The carrier reported being 70%


hedged on jet fuel for this summer while noting: “Fuel prices remain volatile for the unhedged portion.” It said: “We remain in close


contact with our fuel suppliers and airports around fuel supply.” EasyJet chief executive Kenton


Jarvis noted the half-year financial performance “worsened year on year, impacted by the conflict in the Middle East and the competitive environment in some markets”.


Creditors’ claims for Resorthoppa exceed £3.8m


Resorthoppa’s administrators have received unsecured-creditor claims exceeding £3.8 million, according to their latest progress report, well short to date of the more than £8 million in claims expected. The report to the end of March followed confirmation of a year’s


46 23 APRIL 2026


extension to the administration last month. Transfer provider Resorthoppa


UK, its holding company and two associated subsidiaries filed for administration in March 2025 following a ‘pre-packaged sale’ for £398,000 to the newly formed Hoppa Group – set up in February by California-registered transfer technology firm Elife Tech – with directors Ronaldo Scheepers and Matthew Hall joining the new group. Resorthoppa had emerged from a corporate voluntary


arrangement to clear its debts only in November 2024. The previous administrators’


report in October noted an investigation of “possible claims” of “transactions at undervalue”, “wrongful trading” and “transactions to defraud creditors” by the joint administrators, in line with their statutory obligations. The latest report notes the


administrators have filed “a confidential report with the Insolvency Service” and there are “no outstanding lines of enquiry”.


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