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Airline Leaders Focus on Discipline, Loyalty and Strategic Growth

While geopolitical uncertainty and fuel volatility dominated much of the conversation at ISTAT Americas in San Diego on 8-10 March 2026, airline executives emphasized that long-term success will depend less on external events and more on disciplined strategy.

Across multiple sessions during the conference, airline leaders highlighted several common priorities: carefully managing capacity growth, strengthening loyalty programs, controlling costs and maintaining flexibility in volatile markets.

Growth With Discipline

For James G. Dempsey, president and CEO of Frontier Airlines, the past year has required a significant strategic reset for the ultra-low-cost carrier.

“Costs are extremely important in our sector, whether you’re a legacy, low-cost carrier or ultra-low-cost carrier,” Dempsey said during a fireside chat with Steven F. Udvar-Házy, chairman of the Air Lease Board of Directors.

Frontier has recently slowed its growth trajectory after expanding rapidly in recent years. The airline’s fleet had grown quickly, creating pressure on operational stability and profitability.

“I put a plan in place a month ago to right-size the fleet,” Dempsey said.

The strategy focuses on improving operational efficiency while strengthening the airline’s cost structure and revenue base. Frontier is also investing in product upgrades aimed at attracting a broader range of customers, including the introduction of premium seating options and plans to add onboard Wi-Fi in 2027.

“We introduced Up Front Plus. We’re impressed with our ROI,” Dempsey said. “We think it’ll create a more attractive, premium cabin.”

At the same time, the airline is placing greater emphasis on loyalty programs as a source of stable revenue.

“The loyalty programs have become very powerful devices to generate cash flows,” Dempsey said. “Our loyalty programs are quite immature. Investing in that with better customer experience and creating a stable revenue base is important.”

Latin America’s Growth Opportunity

Airlines operating in emerging markets are taking a similarly disciplined approach to expansion.

Adrian Neuhauser, CEO of Abra Group, which includes Avianca and GOL, described Latin America as one of the fastest-growing aviation markets globally but also one characterized by volatility.

“It’s an industry that is subject to multiple shocks,” Neuhauser said during a discussion with Robert Korn, vice chairman and co-founder of Carlyle Aviation Partners.

Despite the region’s historical instability, Neuhauser said competitive dynamics have become more rational in recent years.

“Competition is now more rational than it’s ever been,” he said.

Abra’s strategy focuses on building scale while maintaining financial discipline. The group operates multiple airline brands across Latin America but views them as part of a broader integrated network.

“We think of them more as bases,” Neuhauser said.

He added that the region’s underlying demand for air travel remains strong.

“There’s a big underlying demand in the population to fly.”

Scale in the Mexican Market

In Mexico, Volaris CEO Enrique Beltranena sees similar growth potential.

Speaking during a one-on-one session with John L. Plueger, CEO and president of Air Lease, Beltranena emphasized the enormous untapped demand for air travel in the country.

“Eighty-two percent of the people do not travel,” Beltranena said. “We have a huge opportunity.”

To capture that demand, Volaris is pursuing a merger with Viva Aerobus under a new holding company structure designed to strengthen the airlines’ financial position and increase scale.

The problem we have is that, although we have been able to produce a unit cost as the best three operators in the world, because of our ownership cost and capital cost, we are at the bottom. Scale is really important.” Beltranena said.

By combining operations and negotiating jointly with suppliers and aircraft manufacturers, the airlines hope to improve their balance sheet and reduce financing costs.

“You can expect us to be negotiating together in terms of fleets, spare parts,” Beltranena said. “It’s going to be interesting. If you go back to my point in terms of where the cost is, we cannot eliminate the risk, but we can have a much better balance sheet and profile.”

Navigating Uncertainty

While airline leaders remain focused on long-term strategy, they also acknowledge that the current environment requires constant monitoring of external risks, particularly fuel prices and geopolitical developments.

Airline chief financial officers speaking on a panel moderated by Julie Johnsson of Bloomberg News emphasized that flexibility is critical.

“Airlines are built for this agility,” said John Di Bert, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Air Canada. “It’s an orchestrated dance.”

At United Airlines, Mike Leskinen, executive vice president and chief financial officer, said the company has spent the years since the pandemic strengthening its balance sheet in preparation for future disruptions.

“We’ve been preparing for a crisis since COVID ended,” he said.

Despite the current volatility, airline executives generally believe demand remains resilient.

“Demand has been solid,” Di Bert said.

Consolidation Pressures

Even with strong demand, industry observers continue to watch closely for signs of consolidation or financial distress among weaker carriers.

During one conference poll, 61% of attendees predicted that at least one U.S. airline liquidation could occur in 2026.

Another poll suggested that consolidation may remain limited in North America, with 54% of respondents expecting only one airline merger in the region this year.

Executives on stage offered varying perspectives on whether consolidation will increase.

“The market will take care of it,” Leskinen said, noting that stronger airlines are better positioned to weather economic volatility.

For airlines like Frontier, the priority remains stabilizing operations and strengthening revenue streams rather than pursuing aggressive expansion.

“We’re dramatically slowing growth,” Dempsey said.

Positioning for the Long Term

Across the sessions, airline leaders made clear that the current environment requires a more disciplined approach to growth. With fuel volatility, supply constraints and geopolitical uncertainty shaping the landscape, executives emphasized that long-term success will depend on maintaining strong balance sheets, managing capacity carefully and positioning their networks to capture enduring demand for air travel.

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