Airlines hope subscriptions will solve their revenue volatility problem

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Hello and happy Sunday! Today we’re diving into some eye-popping numbers and intriguing developments across the globe. From America’s soaring debt to Europe’s economic struggles, here’s what we’re covering:

• U.S. debt crisis: The national debt has hit an astonishing $35 trillion, and it’s only getting bigger.

• Europe’s economic woes: Despite global growth, Europe’s economy continues to lag.

• Airbus vs. Boeing: Airbus is flying high while Boeing struggles to recover.

• Airline subscriptions: Can “all you can fly” deals save struggling carriers like Wizz Air?

• The emoji evolution: What the future holds for our favorite digital language.

Is This For Real? 😳 

This graphic shows just how massive America’s debt has gotten. In July, the national debt hit a mind-boggling $35 trillion—basically as much as the combined GDP of China, Japan, Germany, India, and the UK. Right now, the U.S. is spending $2 billion every single day just to pay the interest on that debt, thanks to high interest rates and the ever-growing mountain of what the country owes. Over the last decade, these interest costs have more than doubled. And it’s not slowing down anytime soon—the debt is expected to balloon to $56 trillion by 2034, which would be over 122% of the country’s GDP. 😵‍💫

Come On Europe

The latest World Economic Outlook from July 2024 gives us a pretty mixed bag. Global growth is steady at around 3.2% for 2024, but the road ahead is still rocky, especially with inflation refusing to back down, particularly in services. Asia is leading the charge with stronger activity, but Europe is looking shaky. Despite a slight uptick, the region is still struggling to shake off its economic slump, with manufacturing dragging and growth only expected to tick up to a modest 0.9% in 2024. 🐢🇪🇺

While the global economy is holding its own, Europe’s sluggish performance is a big question mark. The region's weaknesses could be a drag on overall recovery, especially as policymakers juggle taming inflation, dealing with trade disruptions, and trying to keep growth on track. With the potential for more financial market turbulence, Europe’s lack of momentum might make the coming months even trickier.

Airbus Leaves Its American Rival In The Dust

When you compare the profits of Boeing and Airbus over the past few years, it’s clear that Boeing has had a rough ride. They've been in the red almost nonstop, 📉 🚨 thanks to a series of safety issues that have seriously hurt their reputation and finances. The 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 were a major blow, leading to a 1.5-year grounding of the planes, billions in fines, and nearly $3 billion in losses in just Q2 of 2019. The hits kept coming with the pandemic and issues with their 787 Dreamliner, which led to almost $12 billion in losses for 2020, and another $4 billion loss in late 2021.

On August 8, Boeing’s new CEO, Kelly Ortberg, stepped in from Rockwell Collins to try and turn things around. But it’s not smooth sailing yet—those 737 Max issues have popped up again in 2024, leading to another $1.4 billion loss in Q2. Many blame Boeing’s troubles on aggressive cost-cutting and shaky leadership, which have led to some major design and construction flaws. Meanwhile, Airbus has managed to bounce back since 2021, with their biggest hiccup being a corruption fine in late 2019. 🕵️

Netflix Of The Skies?

Airlines are jumping on the subscription bandwagon with “all you can fly” deals. 🧳 🛫🏝️ Wizz Air, a Hungarian budget airline, is the latest to offer one, charging €499 ($549) annually, following a similar (and somewhat criticized) offer from Frontier Airlines last year.

Wizz Air could really use the boost—despite raking in over $5 billion in revenue in FY24, the airline saw a 44% drop in operating profit last quarter, and its stock has tumbled more than 40% this year. Almost 45% of Wizz Air’s income comes from those annoying extra fees like baggage charges and check-in fees.

There seems to be demand for the new subscription deal, but some folks are already having trouble securing it. Let’s see if this subscription model can help Wizz Air soar again!

The Birth Of A New Language

Emojis have been a go-to in digital chats since the ’90s, but now they're up against gifs, stickers, and avatars for attention. With almost 3,800 emojis out there, new releases are getting smaller—2025 might only bring eight new ones, like a beetroot and a shovel, which shows they might be running out of ideas. 💡🤔

The Unicode Consortium, the group that’s been in charge of emojis since 1995, handles these updates. Emojis have come a long way from their start in Japan, with new features like different skin tones, flags, and more inclusive couple options making them a bigger part of how we communicate online.