Jet Airways didn’t give up the ghost. Instead, it rose from the hospital bed and plodded toward recovery, and today the Indian airline is the proud owner of a profit streak of nine consecutive quarters. How did Jet avoid its near-death experience? Speaking of near death, Air Berlin is watching its planes get repossessed, its […]
Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 65: Strong Finish
Europe certainly has its share of struggling airlines, but Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air are not among them. And for Ryanair and Wizz, fourth quarter earnings simply topped off a triumphant 2016. (easyJet has yet to report on its fourth quarter.) In the U.S., Spirit’s fourth quarter numbers were great—just not great for Spirit, as […]
Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 59: Forward-looking Statement
Call it our year-in-preview show. In this first episode of 2017, we look at some of the more interesting stories that are ushering in the airline industry’s new year. Of course, 2017 doesn’t promise answers to all our questions. But we can hope, can’t we? Some of those questions: Leisure demand was one of the […]
Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 17 – Easy Does It!
Not so surprisingly, easyJet wrapped up a strong earnings season in Europe with some strong numbers of its own. We looked at what’s working for easyJet but also why it can’t quite top rivals Ryanair or Wizz Air. Then it’s pretty much all downhill from there. Most airlines can top Air Berlin right now. Thai […]
Trading Places: In one of 10 key trends, European airlines are—like a 1980s film plot—swapping roles
In the late 1980s, a succession of terrible films with names like “Vice Versa,” “18 Again!” and “Like Father, Like Son”—collectively known as the “body swap genre”—all depicted someone acting like someone else. Kirk Cameron was old. George Burns was young. The explanation was always something ridiculous, like someone drinking a magic potion. Fast forward […]