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Finnair
Finn in the Game: Against tough odds, Finnair plots a break with its mediocre past. Is a merger its only hope?
If the best you’ve done all decade was a 2% operating margin (in 2012), then you’ve got problems. And if all you could muster during last year’s cheap fuel environment…May 30th, 2016
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China Southern
Beyond the Great Wall: Chinese airlines are voraciously expanding abroad, with implications for airlines everywhere
There’s nothing new about this phenomenon. Since the star of the decade, China’s airlines have expanded their international flying with double-digit zeal— perhaps no surprise given the Chinese economy’s equally…May 23rd, 2016
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Southwest
The Fountain of Youth: Southwest is profiting like its younger self again. But for how long?
Three years into the new decade, America’s most successful airline of all time was no longer—by its own lofty standards, anyway—so successful. In 2012, for the second straight year, Southwest…May 16th, 2016
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Air New Zealand
Winning With a Bad Hand: Air New Zealand is an unlikely superstar. But Qantas and its allies are a growing menace
Its hub geography is terrible. It has limited scale. It has a small home economy with relatively high labor costs.May 9th, 2016
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American
Fantasy Flick or Horror Film?: U.S. airlines are still earning dreamy profits. But revenue trends are getting scary.
The first quarter of 2016 was another supremely profitable one for U.S. airlines, which walked away with almost $3.4b in net profits, with an unthinkably high 16% operating margin—this during…May 2nd, 2016
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Flybe
Fly Who?: Back from the brink, a smallish U.K. airline called Flybe is more significant than you think
When thinking about airlines around the world that carry large volumes of corporate travelers, which ones come to mind? Singapore Airlines? Lufthansa? Qantas?April 25th, 2016
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Qatar Airways
Rockin’ in the KSA: The UAE and Qatar aren’t the only hyper-growth airline markets on the Arabian Peninsula
Let’s play word association. What’s the first thing that comes to mind about Dubai’s economy? You might say Emirates, the city-state’s globally famous airline. Qatar and Abu Dhabi too have…April 18th, 2016
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Aegean Airlines
Greeking Out a Living: Can Aegean Airlines continue thriving despite the woes of its embattled home nation?
In 2015, Greece suffered yet another drop in GDP, shrinking this time by about 2%. This means the Greek economy today is more than 25% smaller than it was in…April 11th, 2016
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Alaska Airlines
The Eskimo and the Virgin: Why mess with success? Alaska Airlines thinks buying Virgin America will keep it on top
Aside from its much smaller rival Allegiant, Alaska Airlines was the most profitable airline in the world last year, measured by operating profit margin. That’s right—in the entire world. So…April 4th, 2016
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Lufthansa
Mergers on their Minds: Will Europe’s anemic airline sector see more consolidation? Lufthansa seems to hope so.
Airlines are often the chief economic victims of terrorism. But last week’s incidents in Brussels hit even closer to home than usual, with one of the attacks happening at the…March 28th, 2016