TUI said more than half of its available summer capacity has already been sold, a sign of resilient demand as the travel group posted a sharper improvement in earnings than many investors had expected.
The company said underlying EBIT improved by 45 million euros to minus 111 million euros in the first half of fiscal year 2026, from minus 155.9 million euros a year earlier. At group level, underlying EBIT improved 8.9 percent to minus 188 million euros in the period from January to March 2026, compared with minus 206.8 million euros previously. Chief Executive Sebastian Ebel said the company had now seen growth in operating profit for a fourteenth consecutive quarter and said the very strong results gave TUI confidence for the second half of the year. He added that package holidays remain the gold standard.
The gains were driven by what TUI called a successful transformation in its Markets + Airline business and strong demand for its cruise offerings. That strength mattered because the quarter was hit by 45 million euros in additional burdens linked to the war in Iran and Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica, including a 40 million euro impact from the conflict and a 5 million euro impact from the storm.
TUI has spent recent quarters trying to rebuild margins while navigating uneven demand and a volatile geopolitical backdrop. The company said the outlook it adjusted in April was based on the current booking environment for the summer season, no material escalation of geopolitical tensions and maintained fuel supplies, with higher average prices expected to help partially offset increased costs.
Chief Financial Officer Mathias Kiep said the first half showed the group could successfully offset the financial burdens from the war in Iran and Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica. He said TUI is resilient and added that, despite all the challenges in the world, the company is looking forward to the second half of the year with confidence. The key question now is whether the pace of summer bookings holds up long enough to turn that confidence into a stronger profit recovery later in the year.
