Barclays sours on European airlines on fuel price worries, cuts Ryanair, Norwegian

International Consolidated Airlines

09/10/2026 14:44

** Barclays calls for caution on European airlines, citing high fuel prices and airlines' lack of ability to raise prices, prompting it to lower PTs across the sector 
** The broker says low-cost carriers hold a consumer base that is more impacted by rising cost of living, and fuel is a higher share of the total cost for said firms
** As a result, it cuts Ryanair RYA.I and Norwegian Air Shuttle NAS.OL to "equal-weight" from "overweight"
** Ryanair's fuel hedging are seen dropping from 80% in March 2027 to 15% in April 2027, weighing on the broker's estimates for FY28
** Barclays sees Norwegian's EBIT in Q3 lower by 20% due to the high fuel costs, coupled with the lowest level of hedging among airlines in its coverage 
** British Airways owner IAG ICAG.L emerges as the broker's top pick for the current environment, as fuel is a smaller share of its total costs
      
COMPANY
RATING
OLD RATING
PT
OLD PT
Aegean Airlines
Overweight
/
€14.50
€16.00
Air France-KLM
Underweight
/
€9.00
€11.00
Deutsche Lufthansa
Underweight
/
€6.50
€7.50
Finnair
Underweight
/
€3.20
€3.60
IAG
Overweight
/
525p
575p
Jet 2
Overweight
/
1750p
1950p
Norwegian Air Shuttle
Equal weight
Overweight
NOK 11.50
NOK 20.0
Ryanair
Equal weight
Overweight
€24.00
€28.5
Tui
Overweight
/
€8.75
/
Wizz Air
Overweight
/
1200p
1250p
     
     
     
     
     

 (Reporting by Alexander Klyve Gudbrandsen)
 ((alexanderklyve.gudbrandsen@thomsonreuters.com))