Analysis of the Covid-19 pandemic's impact on business operations of airlines in Europe

Avioindustrija je važan čimbenik funkcioniranja modernog gospodarstva budući da omogućuje povezivanje ljudi različitih kultura i prijenos tereta brže nego bilo koji drugi oblik prijevoza u povijesti, također, ona zapošljava velik broj ljudi te indirektno pomaže funkcioniranju mnogih industrija. Među najpogođenijim industrijama u pandemiji Covid-19 našle su se one u kojima je nužan bliski kontakt, a u takve se ubraja avioindustrija, konkretno zračni prijevoz putnika. Ovaj rad se fokusira na analizu utjecaja Covid-19 pandemije na poslovanje avioprijevoznika u Europi. U prvom dijelu rada se opisuju glavna obilježja i modeli poslovanja avioprijevoznika te Europsko tržište zračnog prijevoza. U trećem dijelu slijedi teoretska obrada značaja temeljnih financijskih izvještaja te instrumenata analiza financijskih izvještaja, uz teoretsku obradu navode se neke od specifičnosti financijskog izvještavanja avioprijevoznika. U četvrtom dijelu rada se prikazuje sam način i razmjer utjecaja Covid-19 pandemije na poslovanje avioprijevoznika u svijetu i u Europi. Također, u ovom se dijelu prikazuje na koji su se način avioprijevoznici uspjeli prilagoditi novonastalim okolnostima kako bi što dulje opstali na tržištu, koju su ulogu imale državne pomoći te kakva su predviđanja za oporavak tržišta i poslovanje avioprijevoznika u budućnosti. U petom, odnosno posljednjem dijelu rada se provode postupci analize financijskih izvještaja na dva najuspješnija avioprijevoznika u Europi, prema njihovom modelu poslovanja. Analizom se nastoji prikazati financijski razmjer utjecaja Covid-19 pandemije na sigurnost i uspješnost poslovanja avioprijevoznika u Europi. Odabrana poduzeća su niskobudžetni avioprijevoznik (eng. Low Cost Carrier) Ryanair Holdings Plc te tradicionalni avioprijevoznik (eng. Full Service Network Carrier) Lufthansa Group. Provedenom analizom zaključeno je kako su oba poduzeća pretrpjela velike gubitke u 2020., ali vidljiv je početak oporavka u 2021. što se može iščitati iz rastućih financijskih pokazatelja uspješnosti. Odabrani avioprijevoznici su uspjeli održati likvidnost tokom pandemije, no uz cijenu povećane zaduženosti, ali i ona je počela opadati u 2021. godini.The aviation industry is an important factor in the functioning of the modern economy, since it enables the connection of people of different cultures and the transfer of cargo faster than any other form of transportation in history, it also employs many people and indirectly helps the functioning of many industries. Among the most affected industries in the Covid-19 pandemic were those in which close contact is necessary, and one of these is the aviation industry, specifically the air transport of passengers. This paper focuses on analyzing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Airlines in Europe. The first part of the paper describes the main characteristics and business models of airlines and the European air transport market. In the third part, the theoretical treatment of basic financial statements and financial statement analysis techniques follows, and along with the theoretical treatment, some of the specifics regarding airline financial reporting are listed. In the fourth part of the paper, the manner and extent of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the business operations of airlines in the world and in Europe is presented. Also, in this part, it is shown how the airlines managed to adapt to new circumstances in order to survive on the market as long as possible, what role state aid played and what are the predictions for the market recovery and airline operations in the future. In the fifth, that is, the last part of the paper the procedures for analyzing the financial statements of two of the most successful airlines in Europe according to their business model are carried out. The analysis aims to show the financial extent of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the financial position and performance of airline operations in Europe. The selected companies are the low-cost carrier Ryanair Holdings Plc and the full-service network carrier Lufthansa Group. The analysis concluded that both companies suffered large losses in 2020, but the beginning of recovery is visible in 2021, which can be read from the growing financial performance indicators. Selected airlines managed to maintain liquidity during the pandemic, but at the cost of increased indebtedness, but it also began to decline in 2021