"The funding situation is now stabilised due to state aid, but future deleveraging and operational restructuring – including the downsizing of operations – will prove challenging for some industry players," Stäblein says. The airline industry has a poor record in generating free operating cash flow. The three large network carriers – Deutsche Lufthansa (BBB-/Negative), Air France-KLM, British Airways-parent International Airlines Group – had combined revenues of about €90bn before the COVID-19 crisis, yet combined pre-crisis free operating cash flow was only about €2.5bn, a reflection of low margins and high investment in the industry. Looking at 2020, negative H1 free operating cash flows suggest that the cash burn for the entire year may prove to be less serious than envisaged during the height of the crisis.