At the IATA Congress 2026 in Rio de Janeiro, chief executives discussed the realities of dealing with aircraft and engine manufacturers amid ongoing operational challenges while addressing the slow progress on sustainability goals. Güliz Öztürk of Pegasus Airlines shared that there are only two aircraft manufacturers two three because the competition is in the airline business and that in the aviation business competition is fierce with the airlines not at the airports because when you choose an airport you choose an airport and you just grow there or the producers the OEMs the competition is not that intense like the airline business so it is not easy to go and say okay then I leave it like this I go to the other one.
Adrian Neuhauser of Avianca Abra Group shared that he came into this industry thinking the same thing and then reality is they are your partners you have to deal with them every day you have to find some middle ground. Luis Rodrigues of TAP Air Portugal shared that this is an ecosystem if we start suing each other everybody goes down. Con Korfiatis of Oman Air shared that rather put the effort into trying to get assistance with having spare engine coverage and support we have no aircraft AOG at the moment none and so spare engine support and help with the costs because the other aspect of it these new engines are costing a lot more to maintain so we have been working on trying to negotiate those outcomes rather than thinking about suing them.
The executives acknowledged the intense internal efforts despite public perceptions. Con Korfiatis of Oman Air shared that the amount of hours I have personally put in over the last twelve months into this in our airline and working with the OEM it is huge. Güliz Öztürk of Pegasus Airlines shared that the negotiations are very tough we fight with each other in the meeting rooms but at the end we should find a way to go along. Luis Rodrigues of TAP Air Portugal shared that no we just collectively we just collectively appreciate the fact that you are raising the issue and we are very angry.
On sustainability challenges Con Korfiatis of Oman Air shared that tough question for the airlines we are not energy producers ourselves we are users of the energy and for us we have an open mind as to what the alternative sources of fuel might be SAF is one there are potential other ones as well there is no question we are miles behind where we need to be and at the moment the way it looks I agree you wonder whether it is ever going to get there so in the meanwhile you have got your fallback of your fossil fuels but we all ideally want to head to another place but it is not coming fast.
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