The Airline Weekly Lounge Podcast

Lufthansa’s Competition Grows: Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 11
traceyintorcia

Lufthansa is facing competition from Ryanair, Wizz Air, easyJet, Air Berlin, Vueling, Turkish Airlines, Emirates and probably your brother. Competition is not a new thing, but the severity is growing. Meanwhile, Air New Zealand resides in a small country in...

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Southwest’s Golden Years: Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 10
traceyintorcia

In airline years, Southwest is certainly old enough to be put out to pasture. Instead, the massive airline is making money like never before. Could some of its contrarian moves, like no bag fees, actually be working? Or is it...

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A New Frontier for Frontier: Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 9
traceyintorcia

Posting a $54m profit in its second quarter, Frontier Airlines has joined the ranks of America’s most profitable airlines. Frontier and America’s other ultra-low-cost carrier, Spirit, are both highly profitable and have big growth ambitions. As long as oil prices...

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Africa’s Biggest Airline? Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 8
traceyintorcia

Ethiopian Airlines is growing aggressively—and apparently profitably—while other African carriers are struggling. The airline’s centralized location seems to give it a big advantage over other African carriers. Meanwhile, Ethiopian doesn’t face a lot of competition within Africa. Have its fortunate...

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Checkmate for United? Not Quite: Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 7
traceyintorcia

Can United Airlines’ new CEO overcome the carrier’s inherent challenges? United is big, powerful and, at the moment, very profitable. But it’s also underperforming Delta and American. When United and Continental merged, it was supposed to be “checkmate.” And so...

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The Manic Atlantic: Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 6
traceyintorcia

Airlines in the North Atlantic market are adding capacity at a furious clip. That market has been profitable and should continue to be—in the short term, at least—and airlines seem to have figured that out. Despite four transatlantic joint ventures,...

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Cold Comfort in Canada: Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 5
traceyintorcia

Canada may be a cold place, but right now its two major airlines are cruising along with comfortable profit margins. Still, what we’re seeing from WestJet and Air Canada is a far cry from what U.S. carriers are experiencing. Why...

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The Wild, Wild Eastern Market: Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 4
traceyintorcia

The creditors of bankrupt Skymark Airlines chose All Nippon Airways (ANA) as its equity partner going forward. This of course leaves Delta—again!—without a dance partner in Asia. With that news, we take the opportunity to consider the condition of Japan’s...

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The European Earnings Picture Is Complicated: Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 3
traceyintorcia

With most European airlines having now reported second-quarter earnings, the picture is filling in. But it’s a mosaic—not a portrait. Some carriers did well. Some did lousy. One thing we learned from Ryanair and Wizz Air is that it’s good...

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Postcards from the Hedge: Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 2
traceyintorcia

American Airlines doesn’t hedge its jet fuel, and now it’s enjoying the fruits of that somewhat contrarian strategy. Is AA onto something here? Is fuel hedging a smart play? Will other airlines mimic AA and reject hedging altogether? Those are...

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Can It Get Any Better? Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 1
traceyintorcia

Our inaugural episode of the Airline Weekly Lounge went live today. Within it, Seth Kaplan and I discuss this golden age for U.S. aviation. Can profits get any better? Along those lines, Delta reported earnings last week. They were exemplary,...

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