CEO Compass: Deloitte Global’s 2025 Airline CEO Survey

Introducing Deloitte's Global 2025 Airline CEO Survey. As the Aviation industry navigates through evolving challenges and opportunities, this survey offers essential insights from leading global airline CEOs. Given the significant presence of Aviation Finance and Leasing industry in Ireland our CEO survey provides a real insight to the evolving opportunities and challenges facing global airline CEOs. 

Deloitte's 2025 Airline CEO Survey delivers a comprehensive analysis of the strategic priorities shaping the future of aviation. With contributions from 32 CEOs across diverse airline models and sizes, this report provides a unique perspective on the forces influencing the industry and the leadership strategies guiding it forward.

Key Findings

1. Economic and Geopolitical Challenges

Airline CEOs are primarily concerned with macroeconomic uncertainty and geopolitical instability. These factors are driving a renewed focus on cost control and operational reliability, essential for maintaining resilience in a volatile market.

2. Strategic Priorities

Operational excellence and financial health are at the forefront of strategic priorities, with 66% and 63% of CEOs respectively emphasising these areas. The balance between cost management and customer experience remains crucial, reflecting the need to deliver value without compromising financial discipline.

3. Technological Investments

Transformative technology, including AI and advanced data analytics, is the top initiative which CEOs see driving growth. CEO's recognise the importance of digital investments in enhancing operational efficiency and customer engagement.When asked where CEOs expect AI to deliver the most impact in the next three years, CEOs zeroed in on revenue management and dynamic pricing-directly tied to their top growth priority (figure 7).

Predictive maintenance and aircraft reliability follow closely, showing a clear link between AI and cost control. AI’s role in customer service and disruption recovery also signals growing trust in its ability to enhance the passenger experience, especially in high-stakes moments. As AI matures, CEOs increasingly recognise its transformational potential across some of the major facets of the business, making it a cornerstone of future-ready airline strategies.

4. Sustainability Efforts

Sustainability has moved further down the priority list, however is still an important strategic objective. Sustainable aviation fuel and operational efficiency are prioritised as airlines align sustainability efforts with immediate financial and operational goals.

5. Operational resilience

For airline CEO's, reliability has become non-negotiable. The survey asked which initiatives they are prioritising to help strengthen operational excellence and resiliency in the year ahead: Two responses topped the list- on-time performance and technical operations (figure 5). That’s not a coincidence. It reflects a shared understanding that a dependable operation is the foundation for everything else: customer satisfaction, cost efficiency, and even revenue growth.

Why It Matters?

The airline industry is integral to the European and Global economy, connecting people and businesses across the continent and beyond. This survey provides a roadmap for airline executives, policymakers, and stakeholders to understand the challenges and opportunities ahead, fostering informed decision-making and strategic planning.

Conclusion

The 2025 Airline CEO Survey by Deloitte Global provides a roadmap for airline executives, policymakers, and stakeholders to understand the challenges and opportunities ahead. By focusing on cost control, operational reliability, technological advancements, workforce engagement, and sustainability, airline leaders are positioning their organisations for long-term success in a complex and unpredictable environment.