Business
Summer travel isn’t as easy as it used to be for airlines
A passenger looks at aircrafts at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia on July 2, 2025.
Charly Triballeau | AFP | Getty Images
Making money in the summer is not as easy as it used to be for airlines.
Airlines have drawn down their schedules in August for a variety of reasons. Some travelers are opting to fly earlier, in June or even May, as schools let out sooner than they used to. Demand for flights to Europe has also been moving from the sweltering, crowded summer to the fall, airline executives have said, especially for travelers with more flexibility, like retirees.
Carriers still make the bulk of their money in the second and third quarters. But as travel demand has shifted, and in some cases customers have become altogether unpredictable, making the third quarter less of a shoo-in moneymaker for airlines.
Change of plans, pricier tickets
Airline planners have been forced to get more surgical with schedules in August as leisure demand tapers off from the late spring and summer peaks. Labor and other costs have jumped after the pandemic, so getting the mix of flights right is essential.
Carriers across the industry have been taking flights off the schedule after an overhang of too much capacity pushed down fares this summer. But the capacity cuts are set to further drive up airfares, which rose 0.7% in July from last year, and a seasonally adjusted 4% jump from June to July, according to the latest U.S. inflation read.
U.S. airlines’ domestic capacity is down 6% in August from July, according to aviation data firm Cirium. The same period last year, they cut domestic capacity just over 4% compared with just a 0.6% downsize between the months in 2023, Cirium said. From July to August in 2019, airlines cut 1.7% of capacity.
Carriers that bet on a blockbuster year were left disappointed earlier in 2025 when consumers weighed President Donald Trump‘s on-again, off-again tariffs and economic uncertainty. To attract more customers, many airlines slashed prices, even for flights in the summer peaks in late June and July.
Demand has improved, airline executives said on earnings calls in recent months, but carriers including Delta, American, United and Southwest last month lowered their 2025 profit forecasts compared with their sunnier outlooks at the start of the year.
Further complicating matters, some travelers have been also waiting until the last minute to book flights.
“It really was, I would say, middle of May, when we started seeing Memorial Day bookings pick up,” JetBlue Airways President Marty St. George told investors last month. “We had a fantastic Memorial Day, much better than forecast, and that really carried into June. But it does have the feeling of people just waited a long time to make the final decisions.”
There’s always next year
Now, some airlines are already thinking about how to tackle ever-changing travel patterns next year.
“Schools are going back earlier and earlier but what you also see is schools are getting out earlier and earlier,” Brian Znotins, American Airlines‘ vice president of network planning and schedule, told CNBC.
Public schools in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, returned on Aug. 5, and Atlanta public schools resumed Aug. 4. In 2023, more than half of the country’s public school students went back to classrooms by mid-August, according to the Pew Research Center.
Southwest, with its Texas roots, ended its summer schedule on Aug. 5 this year, compared with Aug. 15 in 2023. American, for its part, is shifting some peak flying next year.
“We’re moving our whole summer schedule change to the week before Memorial Day,” Znotins said. “That’s just in response to schools letting out in the spring.” Those plans include additions of a host of long-haul international flights.
“We are a year-round airline,” he continued. Znotins said the carrier has to not just make sure there are enough seats for peak periods, but know when to cut back in lighter quarters, like the first three months of the year.
“For a network planner, the harder schedules to build are the ones where there’s lower demand because you can’t just count on demand coming to your flights,” Znotins said. “When demand is lower, you need to find ways to attract customers to your flights with a good quality schedule and product changes.”
American said its schedule by seats in August was on par with July in 2019, but that this year it was 6% lower in August from July.
American forecast last month it could lose an adjusted 10 cents to 60 cents a share in the third quarter, below what analysts are expecting. CEO Robert Isom said on an earnings call that “July has been tough,” though the carrier says trends have improved.
The capacity cuts, coupled with more encouraging booking patterns lately, are fueling optimism about a better supply and demand balance in the coming weeks.
“The mistake some airlines make, you tend to try to build a church for Easter Sunday: You build your capacity foundation for those peak periods and then you have way too many [employees],” said Raymond James airline analyst Savanthi Syth.
She said it was unusual to see airlines across the board pruning their summer schedules before even the peak period ended, but she is upbeat about demand, and fares, going forward.
“Time has passed and people are getting a little more certainty on what their future looks like and they’re more willing to spend,” she said.
Business
Gurugram Attracts Rs 86,588 Crore In Real Estate Investments In 2025 As RERA Clears 131 Projects
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Alongside rising investments, Gurugram RERA strengthened regulatory oversight to safeguard homebuyer and investor interests
Gurgaon Real Estate (Representative Image)
Gurugram emerged as one of India’s top real estate investment destinations in 2025, with projects worth Rs 86,588 crore receiving regulatory approvals during the year, according to data from the Gurugram Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Gurugram RERA).
Market observers said the numbers reflect strong investor confidence in the NCR’s largest commercial and residential hub.
Gurugram RERA registered 131 projects in calendar year 2025, representing development potential of 35,455 units across housing and commercial segments.
A striking feature of the data was the dominance of large-ticket projects. Just 28 major developments accounted for investments worth Rs 59,360 crore, highlighting the growing influence of institutional capital and large developers in shaping Gurugram’s property market.
Residential assets continued to attract the bulk of investment interest. Of the total units approved, 31,455 were residential, underscoring sustained end-user demand and long-term confidence in the city’s housing fundamentals.
According to Authority data, the residential mix included 17,405 group housing units, 5,720 mixed land use units, 4,040 residential floor units, 2,122 affordable group housing units, 1,954 units under the Deen Dayal housing scheme, and 214 residential plotted colony units.
Market observers said this diversified supply pipeline indicates capital deployment across both premium and mass segments, helping reduce concentration risk and deepen market resilience.
On the commercial side, Gurugram RERA approved about 4,000 commercial units, of which 168 were dedicated to IT parks, reinforcing Gurugram’s position as a preferred hub for technology firms and Global Capability Centres.
Analysts noted that the combination of office-led employment growth and residential expansion continues to make Gurugram attractive for long-term capital deployment.
Industry experts said the scale of investments approved in 2025 highlights Gurugram’s ability to attract capital despite global uncertainty, supported by infrastructure growth, a strong corporate base and an improving regulatory environment.
“With a large pipeline of approved projects and sustained interest from developers and institutional investors, Gurugram is expected to remain a key real estate investment destination in the coming years,” a Gurugram-based real estate expert said.
Tighter regulatory checks
Alongside rising investments, Gurugram RERA strengthened regulatory oversight to enhance transparency and safeguard homebuyer and investor interests.
“These steps included stricter scrutiny of developer submissions, mandatory site inspections by domain experts, and public consultation through mandatory notices before project registration,” an Authority official said.
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January 16, 2026, 07:44 IST
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National Startup Day highlights India’s thriving startup ecosystem, celebrating innovation, entrepreneurship and job creation driven by founders, unicorns and Startup India mission
National Startup Day 2026 honours Indian startups, entrepreneurs and innovators driving economic growth and job creation.
National Startup Day 2026: India’s startup ecosystem has evolved into one of the world’s most vibrant and promising innovation hubs. To recognise the contribution of entrepreneurs, founders and startups transforming ideas into impactful solutions, National Startup Day is observed every year on January 16 across the country.
Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2022, the day celebrates visionary entrepreneurs who play a crucial role in economic growth, employment generation and technological advancement.
National Startup Day serves as a reminder that innovation, backed by determination and policy support, can reshape society and create global impact.
National Startup Day 2026 Theme
The official theme for National Startup Day 2026 is yet to be announced. However, the core focus areas are expected to revolve around:
- Innovation and emerging technologies
- Entrepreneurship and leadership
- Self-reliance (Atmanirbhar Bharat)
- Startup India Mission
- Youth empowerment
- Job creation
How Startups Are Shaping India’s Future
India currently ranks as the third-largest startup ecosystem globally, with over 1.59 lakh startups recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) as of early 2025. Backed by 100+ unicorns, the ecosystem continues to grow rapidly.
Metro cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi-NCR lead this expansion, while Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities are emerging as new innovation centres, adding diversity and scale to India’s entrepreneurial journey.
Startups across fintech, edtech, health-tech, e-commerce and deep-tech are addressing real-world challenges and gaining global recognition. Technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain and IoT are increasingly driving innovation, according to Startup India ecosystem reports.
Industry-Wise Startup Impact
DPIIT-recognised startups have generated over 16.6 lakh direct jobs across sectors as of October 31, 2024, strengthening India’s employment landscape.
- IT Services: 2.04 lakh jobs
- Healthcare & Life Sciences: 1.47 lakh jobs
- Commercial & Professional Services: 94,000 jobs
Through the Startup India initiative, the government continues to focus on skill development, funding access, ecosystem collaboration and global outreach.
Key Initiatives Under Startup India
- Capacity building and mentorship
- Outreach and awareness programmes
- Ecosystem development events
- International exposure and global linkages
- Collaboration between startups, corporates and institutions.
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January 16, 2026, 07:00 IST
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The government on Thursday kept petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) prices unchanged at Rs253.17 per litre and Rs257.08 per litre respectively, for the coming fortnight, starting from January 16.
This decision was notified in a press release issued by the Petroleum Division.
Earlier, it was expected that the prices of all petroleum products would go down by up to Rs4.50 per litre (over 1pc each) today in view of variation in the international market.
Petrol is primarily used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws, and two-wheelers, and directly impacts the budgets of the middle and lower-middle classes.
Meanwhile, most of the transport sector runs on HSD. Its price is considered inflationary, as it is mostly used in heavy transport vehicles, trains, and agricultural engines such as trucks, buses, tractors, tube wells, and threshers, and particularly adds to the prices of vegetables and other eatables.
The government is currently charging about Rs100 per litre on petrol and about Rs97 per litre on diesel.
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Gurugram Attracts Rs 86,588 Crore In Real Estate Investments In 2025 As RERA Clears 131 Projects
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