Travel giant TUI hit by overcapacity and Max planes

Travel giant TUI said its first-half losses deepened due to airline overcapacity for Spain and the grounding of its 15 Boeing 737 Max planes, two issues that could plague the Anglo-German tour operator over the rest of the year.

TUI said it needed clarity over the status of its grounded planes by the end of May or it will take another hit on profit, and did not rule out cancelling eight Maxs it has on order. It posted an underlying loss of €300.6m compared with a loss of €168.7m the previous year, hindered by lower margins in Spain as well as the 737 MAX grounding.