Skift Airline Weekly

Qatar Airways took a page from Etihad’s book and invested in a European carrier. This elicited howls from the major U.S. airlines. They claimed this move was nothing more than a Trojan Horse strategy for Qatar to operate fifth-freedom flights to the U.S. from Europe (but not quite, since Air Italy was a European carrier). […]

Things were looking dark for American. Poor margins. Messy operations. Fights with unions. Grounded MAXs. Lost friends. Then suddenly, this: A revived partnership with Alaska Airlines, this time envisioning a much deeper relationship than the two ever had before. Make no mistake. This is a big strategic move for American, greatly elevating its position along […]

A federal court is wading into the arcana of airline distribution. It’s assessing whether there are antitrust issues with travel tech company Sabre’s proposed acquisition of Farelogix. But what exactly is the deal? And why does the government have concerns? Skift Senior Travel Tech Editor Sean O’Neill takes us through an explainer on what Sabre […]

For U.S. airlines, Q4 earnings season is now complete. And as is customary these days, all players produced solid profits. Collectively, Delta, American, United, Southwest, Alaska, JetBlue, Hawaiian, Spirit, and Allegiant reached a double-digit operating margin, topping 10% on nearly $46b in revenues. For all of 2019, they earned 11% on $184b. The year before: […]

French Bee President Marc Rochet (pictured, left) is confident the airline’s upcoming Newark-Orly flights will be successful, because the key to the airline’s wins so far is its simplicity, he said. But will it work? Rochet said simplicity — in fleet, in network, in product — is why the airline is working when so many […]

For Scandinavia’s largest airline, there is plenty to celebrate. Capacity conditions for SAS are extremely favorable with rivals missing their MAXs. LCC predators like Ryanair, easyJet, and Wizz Air have their attention focused on markets other than Europe’s Nordic region. And best of all, Norwegian is suddenly shrinking drastically after years of hyperactive growth. Oh […]

Just what is going on in California? JetBlue is drawing down at Long Beach and dropping Oakland altogether, while United is adding flights to small California cities. Can any airline make a go of the Los Angeles Basin’s secondary airports? What about the San Francisco Bay Area’s secondary airports? Why is Spirit launching one of […]

If All Nippon Airways (ANA) has a bit of a chip on its shoulder, you can understand why. It was once Japan’s most profitable airline, routinely beating its larger, bloated rival Japan Airlines (JAL). After the Japanese government rescued JAL in 2010, however, JAL suddenly became one of the world’s highest-margin carriers. Its drastic downsizing […]

Airline Weekly talks this week to Skift Europe Editor Patrick Whyte (pictured, left) on the news of International Airlines Group CEO Willie Walsh’s retirement announcement. Walsh has been a powerhouse in the airline industry, helping transform British Airways into a pan-European behemoth. London-based Whyte walks us through the reaction in the United Kingdom. He also […]

Chicago’s O’Hare airport has seven active runways. Hey, London Heathrow, are you jealous? Don’t be. Chicago might have lots of runways, but its airline market is barely growing. In fact, during 2019, while Heathrow managed a modest 1% y/y increase in passenger volumes, the Chicago market as a whole — O’Hare and Midway airports combined […]