Past Issues

Longing for Lingus: IAG bids and re-bids for Ireland’s flag carrier, so far unsuccessfully. What’s next?

Just before Christmas, on Dec. 18, Europe’s third largest airline group tried to buy itself a gift. But International Airlines Group, offering to pay about $2.75 per share for Ireland’s Aer Lingus, failed to impress the latter’s board. So IAG,...

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Delta SkyDollars? United DollarsPlus? Stakeholders and competitors watch closely as two U.S. giants ditch distance-based awards

On New Year’s Day, more than 90m Delta SkyMiles members awoke to the biggest change ever at a giant frequent flier program—a change essentially taking the “miles” out of SkyMiles. And Delta loyalists aren’t alone. In March, United’s MileagePlus members...

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Looking Back, Looking Ahead: The top 10 developments in 2014—and what to watch in 2015

Stunning is the only way to describe what’s happened in the oil markets during the second half of 2014, a year otherwise characterized by steady upward momentum in the U.S. economy but economic turbulence nearly everywhere else. As North American...

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Still Prosperous on the Bosporus: In a world of growing vulnerabilities for emerging market airlines, Turkish remains perkish

Right or wrong, wise or foolish, Lufthansa’s motivations are clear: it wants a low-cost longhaul platform to combat present and future threats from Gulf carriers and far-flying LCCs, not to mention longhaul leisure rivals Air Berlin, Condor and TUI in...

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True or False? United is Rising. United’s encouraging Q3 result suggests better times ahead

It’s the cold, hard truth: United Airlines, with a 6% operating margin, was America’s least profitable airline for the 12 months to September—even troubled Virgin America did better. But this is also true: last quarter alone, United showed the strongest...

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It’s a WONderful Life: Or maybe not. The strong Korean won helps Korean Air. But the airline has other worries.

Unlike so many airlines outside North America, Korean Air isn’t suffering from a weak home currency at the moment. But that doesn’t mean it’s sleeping well at night. The Korean won has indeed been a rare currency that’s held relatively...

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Cool Economy, Hot Airports: Despite the gloomy global headlines, some airports continue to enjoy brisk growth

During the first half of 2014, Dubai’s main airport saw passenger traffic growth of just 6%, less than half the 15% pace it saw in 2013. But don’t be fooled: this was only because of airport maintenance that left just...

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Clinging to the Present: Other big airlines are joining Delta in forsaking big next-gen jets for current models

When it comes to airplanes, airlines of the world are still very much excited about the future. But some are getting just as excited about the present. More and more, large airlines in North America and Europe, in particular, are...

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Bedlam Beyond Borders: Trouble is brewing in international markets, but U.S. carriers are thriving all the same

And airlines thought 2010 was a great year? Well, it was. And oh how sweet but distant it seems for the majority of carriers on the planet. But not for U.S. carriers. As good as 2010 was for them—nearly $9b...

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Mexican Cap Dance: As Mexican carriers grapple with overcapacity, a sweeping U.S. liberalization treaty beckons

It’s now taken for granted. But the most important open skies agreement—the one between the European Union and the United States—was for many years a far-off fantasy. Then one morning in March 2007, the airline world awoke to learn it...

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Commodity Oddity: Falling fuel prices are a dream come true for airlines, right? Not so fast

Nothing is more important to an airline’s fortunes than the price of oil. Nothing. So theoretically, nothing should make airlines happier than a fall in the price of oil. Right? Maybe not. The price of oil is indeed falling, and...

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The Virgin Revival: Little Red is dead. But thanks partly to Delta, its parent Virgin Atlantic is on the upswing

You know about Delta’s dramatic turnaround. Now, something similar seems under way at Virgin Atlantic—thanks in large part to guess who? Yes, Delta. What? A Virgin Atlantic turnaround? Last week’s headlines about the demise of Little Red surely didn’t give...

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