Dealing with waxing and waning consumer demand is difficult at the best of times, but it's arguably toughest for the airlines right now. British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) has battled the same issues as its peers: terrorism denting the desire to travel, European air traffic control strikes - the most "extreme" chief executive Willie Walsh can remember - and, of course, Brexit. The latter issue is particularly relevant as the group reports in euros. Management said the company suffered a negative €148m (£125m) currency swing in the second quarter alone.
At group level, revenue per available seat kilometre (ASK) - a key metric for airlines - fell more than 7 per cent to €6.67, while an important counterweight to this, non-fuel unit costs per ASK, were flat at €5.33. This is likely to have influenced the decision by management to cool capacity growth plans, which should see a group increase of 4.5 per cent, down from 4.9 per cent at the start of the year.