Skift Airline Weekly

Was it a good first quarter for U.S. airlines? In the aggregate: not bad. The country’s nine largest publicly-traded carriers collectively earned almost $3b in operating profits, along with a solid 7% operating margin—once upon a time it was rare to see any black ink in the offpeak first quarter. The 7% figure, furthermore, was […]

American Airlines truly set itself apart from its peers in the third quarter—and not in a good way. AA posted a dismal 7.5% operating profit margin, nearly half of Delta’s 13.9% margin. But, with good reason, management remains optimistic. United, on the other hand, has plenty to smile about right now as it offset 100% […]

Delta is doing a remarkable job keeping pace with rapidly rising costs. Sure, the airline’s third-quarter fuel bill rose 35% year over year. But rising revenues offset enough of those costs that Delta’s operating profit margin fell only two points. Meanwhile, what’s behind American’s recent troubles? Unfortunately, when American reports later in the month, it’s […]

Among America’s Big Three airlines, there’s a clear profit champion. It’s Delta. Among Europe’s Big Three, there’s a clear profit champion: It’s IAG. And among China’s Big Three? The champion is no less clear: It’s Air China. But Air China, more so than its champion counterparts abroad, has a lot to be nervous about. Problems, […]

So far all U.S. carriers have reported shrinking year-over-year profits in the second quarter. But nobody’s margin decline was worse than that of JetBlue, which posted a 9% operating margin, down from 19% the year before. Allegiant had the best margin of the bunch, narrowly besting Southwest and Delta, both of which had shining quarters. […]

It takes a long time to descend from a high mountain. But U.S. airline profitability is indeed descending, still strong relative to the global average but getting further away from its peak. During the springtime April-to-June quarter, the sector’s nine major publicly-traded airlines collectively earned a 13% operating margin, down from close to 18% in […]

In 1980, just as the U.S. airline industry was deregulating, Florida was the country’s seventh most populous state, with about 10m people. Today, with 20m people, it ranks No. 3, behind only California and Texas and slightly ahead of New York. Last year, Florida welcomed a record 117m visitors, including 14m from outside the U.S. […]

Rising costs aren’t keeping Delta down. Delta overcame a 33% year-over-year increase in fuel costs to produce more than $1.2b in net profits (excluding special items) and a handsome 16% quarterly operating margin. In fact, despite the increased costs, Delta almost matched last year’s 18% Q2 margin. And the airline thinks it can return to […]

Give it credit for honest self assessment. In American’s latest annual report, the airline admits: “Our presence in international markets, such as Asia, is not as extensive as that of some of our competitors.” Is American being too hard on itself? Is the depth and breadth of its international network really a liability? American’s Latin […]

Things haven’t gotten better in Mexico. Although Aeroméxico is at least coping better than its domestic competitors, all of which posted negative first-quarter margins in the double-digits. To make matters worse, construction of Mexico City’s much-needed new airport might be suspended as soon as July. North of the border, Delta and Southwest are seeing more […]