What a few months it has been since our last issue.

The airline industry has been pummelled by the onslaught of Covid-19, shedding thousands of jobs, millions of passengers and billions of dollars. In this edition, we hear what the experts have to say about the outlook for air travel in general and the on-board products sector in particular.

Turn to page 18 to read what Andrew Doyle, director of market development at travel industry data provider Cirium, reckons is key to weathering this particularly pernicious storm.

He points out how vital it is at this point in time for suppliers to stay ahead of competitors by using analytical insights to build a pipeline of leads, thereby readying themselves for a return in demand.

In place of our regular “In Conversation” interview slot we report back from “The Outlook for Aircraft Interiors”. This is one of a series of webinars that the Passenger Experience Conference is running this summer to replace the cancelled live event due to have taken place in Hamburg this spring.

A panel of seasoned industry stalwarts recently gathered to assess the economic damage wreaked by coronavirus and discuss those cabin enhancements likely to constitute the ‘new normal’ in a post-Covid landscape, as well as proffering a variety of global recovery scenarios [see pages 24 and 25 for more details].

Our comment column, “In my View” [page 13], offers yet more authoritative opinion, this time from former airline CEO David A Banmiller, who has just written a memoir entitled Turbulence: Fifty Years on the Leading Edge of the Airline Industry. Here, David looks at those amazing innovations that have shaped the aviation industry and ponders on what’s in store for the future.

We’ll be back in September with features on environmental control systems, laminates and maintenance; in the meantime keep an eye on aviationbusinessnews.com for all your essential industry updates.