A major merger between Korean Air and its weaker rival Asiana signals — perhaps — a new wave of airline industry consolidation. If so, the international landscape could see an easing of competitive pressures akin to what happened after a...
Read MoreIn another unwelcome first for the airline industry, Emirates — the mighty airline of Dubai — suffered a half-year loss. Mercifully, it’s a pretty big cargo player, at a time when cargo is a major distinguishing factor between carriers with...
Read MoreIt was a week of waiting. Waiting for the results. What would they be? Finally, the world learned. They learned that Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, and Turkish Airlines collectively suffered hundreds of millions of dollars of third-quarter losses. But a...
Read MoreAs election day looms in America, the country’s airline gave more evidence of travelers willing and eager to fly but deterred by closed borders and quarantine policies. Hawaii is a good example: As the state substitutes quarantines with testing, airlines...
Read MoreAmerican, Southwest, and Alaska showed again that conditions in the U.S. weren’t as bad in Q3 as they were in Q2. But that’s not to say they still weren’t bad. In fact, they were awful, far from anything resembling a...
Read MoreFor United CEO Scott Kirby, channeling Winston Churchill, it’s 1942. The war underway is still a long way from over. Battles still are being lost. But positive momentum is building. And a vision for post-war revival is starting to take...
Read MoreBuckle up, everyone. It’s time for third-quarter earnings season, starting with Delta on Tuesday. The dominant theme across the industry, of course, will be the Covid crisis, and its ongoing decimation of travel demand. Seven months into the crisis —...
Read MoreThe fourth quarter is now underway, with the Covid crisis showing few signs of easing. There is, to be sure, some positive momentum in a few domestic markets. Russia is leading the way with y/y demand growth. China’s not quite...
Read MoreThe fateful day of October 1 is fast approaching. It’s the day that U.S. airlines will lose federal money for wages, unless Congress acts to extend payroll support. With time running out, airlines and their unions are lobbying hard for...
Read MoreThe once-in-a-lifetime Covid crisis already is reshaping the global airline business in profound ways. In London, the world’s largest air travel market, the upheaval has some major players in retreat, and others (like Wizz Air) sensing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Never...
Read MoreOn Sept. 11, 2001, the French newspaper Le Monde, expressing solidarity with the American people, famously wrote “We’re all Americans now.” Last week, on the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington, U.S. airlines face a...
Read MoreBy now, airlines hoped the Covid crisis would be over. Or at least that the world would be a lot further along in the recovery. September has arrived, almost nine months since Chinese carriers began facing Covid’s wrath. For the...
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