Airline industry: rising costs make it harder to regain altitude

Passengers endure check-in chaos and cancellations. Yet the aviation industry insists it is on course for recovery. Rolls-Royce has flagged an uptick in demand for new large aircraft. Willie Walsh, boss of industry body Iata, has forecast a return to industry-wide profitability next year. It is, he claims, a time for optimism.

That message has not been lost on workers, including those at IAG — which Walsh ran until recently. At its…