Aviation market update - August 2026
- James Parker
- 13 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Aviation & Aerospace Director James Parker looks at recent developments in the sector.
I’m conscious that the Aviation & Aerospace team at Venari Partners is in a privileged position. Sometimes we have to pinch ourselves. Because we are fortunate enough to have a strong overview on our market, what we see happening in the sector is not necessarily indicative of the industry as a whole. With that caveat in mind, I wanted to share a quick market update on some trends I’ve noticed recently in aviation.
Improvements in the market
Things have picked up since I last wrote about the challenges and opportunities facing aviation a few months ago. That’s not to say the market is back to where it was previously – but things are definitely improving. For example, recruitment volume is up in Middle East, though whether this is down to airlines showing resolve or because they’re confident that the Iran war is drawing to a close, I’m not sure.
Regardless, the increase is a real sign of optimism in the state of the industry. After all, it only takes a few big players to pause hiring for recruiters to notice a real difference – and that has been the case with some of the major American carriers lately. While the Middle East has returned to the market, the US feels like it’s at something of a plateau still. Meanwhile, Latin America remains buoyant, while roles are being selectively recruited for in Asia-Pacific.
Maintenance and engineering in demand
As ever, maintenance and engineering hiring has not slowed down. If anything, it’s maybe even busier than it was a few months prior, and that trajectory looks set to continue in what is largely an aging workforce. Rather than focusing solely on senior positions – that is, CTO, SVP, VP and MD-level – in this specialist function, we are developing solutions to help source mid-management roles. The demand for this talent from our clients is significant and we want to our offering to provide genuine value – we’re currently deliberating on how best to do just that and will share further details on our plans soon.
Commercial and tech developments
Separately, commercial remains quiet, though we’re starting to see those roles come back. While there’s not been too much activity at the CCO level, I expect there’ll probably be more later in the year. Meanwhile, we’ve seen network, planning, and revenue management roles coming back on the market after a lull.
In tech, innovation and evolution will only rise, while airlines have been doubling down on data as it is the foundation for AI success. Expertise in digital products for airline operations has also been in demand. Alongside the continued focus on commercial and customer-facing offerings, we are seeing growing demand for leaders with genuine airline operations product expertise, spanning areas such as integrated operations, disruption management, flight and crew operations, ground services, and engineering.
Underpinning all of this is the modernisation of core platforms, integration layers, and cloud architecture. Increasingly, airlines are looking for technology leaders who can connect these domains rather than optimise individual systems in isolation, and who understand how investing in technology ultimately translates into greater operational resilience, productivity, revenue, and customer outcomes.
Interesting moves
Since my last update, executives have been moving. Corneel Koster officially took charge at Virgin Atlantic in January, Dr. Max Kownatzki took the helm at Eurowings in February, and Ahmet Olmuştur was promoted to CEO at Turkish Airlines in April. Willie Walsh just took charge at IndiGo (InterGlobe Aviation Ltd), meanwhile, with Tewolde Gebremariam recently announced as the new Air India Limited CEO, too.
Meanwhile, Edi Wolfensberger has been named as the new Edelweiss Air AG CEO (effective from October), while Anko van der Werff is soon to join Air Canada as CEO (effective from January 2027). I’d like to wish them all good luck at these fantastic airlines and look forward to seeing what the future holds.
Venari Partners' own Aviation market update
As for our own Aviation practice, our team has never been bigger – and frankly, we’ve never had more projects on. There is lots to look forward to, not least some exciting hires. We recently welcomed industry stalwart John Davidson to our team, and we have another very experienced headhunter joining us soon. I love to welcome familiar faces – stay tuned for further updates.
As usual, we’re busy with events. Several colleagues recently attended the Farnborough International Air Show, and there are many more conferences on the horizon. Naturally, we will be at the World Aviation Festival in Lisbon in October and have something pretty special planned, so do let me know if you’ll be there. We are very proud of our partnerships with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), ALTA - Latin American & Caribbean Air Transport Association, and CAPA - Centre for Aviation, so you can expect to see the team at events held by these organisations throughout the year.
