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Airline Weekly

Delivering the strongest business insights in the world of commercial aviation.

Tag: Frontier

Amid Moderation, a ULCC Sensation

January 28, 2019

The great moderation. That’s what economists called the period of almost three decades without a major U.S. recession, finally ending with the financial crisis of 2008. But the opposite was true for U.S. airlines: three decades of almost nonstop crisis, finally ending with an extended period of relative bliss thanks to a series of dramatic […]

Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 106: Not So Sunny

October 4, 2018

Sun Country is largely missing out on the golden age that U.S. carriers have been basking in since 2015. In the past 12 months (ending with the second quarter, the most recent to be reported) all the U.S. carriers posted operating profit margins ranging from a healthy 9% to an excellent 16%—except for Sun Country, […]

Boiled by Oil: For U.S. airlines, profits are falling even at a time of epic demand strength

July 30, 2018

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 […]

Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 100: Wild Ride

July 3, 2018

Frontier Airlines has had one of the most topsy-turvy histories of any airline, and its first-quarter earnings report was no exception. Sporting a wild animal on each tail, the airline has been soaring in recent years. In 2017, Frontier had the seventh best operating profit margin in the world. But something happened in Q1 2018, […]

Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 95: Cost Creep

April 17, 2018

For a second straight year, Delta’s operating profit margin has fallen year-over-year in the first quarter. The reason for the decline, once again, is rising costs. The good news: Rising revenues—from nearly every corner of Delta’s network—propelled the airline to a solid 8% operating profit margin. One of the rising costs is, of course, fuel. […]

Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 88: SAS Spells Success

January 10, 2018

Just a few years ago, the often-troubled SAS was merely inches away from seeing its light burn out permanently. Since then the airline has rallied. This past October the airline completed its best fiscal year in two decades. Is the airline merely surfing the buoyant European economy? Or is it building long-term success? Finnair is […]

Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 82: Whoa Mexico

October 4, 2017

The food scene and the tequila are great in Mexico. The airline industry? Not so much—at least at the moment. Everybody lost money in the first quarter of 2017. In the second quarter, only one airline—VivaAerobus—did merely okay. What has happened to the usually high-flying Volaris? Even Interjet has outperformed Volaris in the first half. […]

Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 78: The United Weigh

August 1, 2017

United is still trailing its peers, but can it catch up? That’s the question we weigh first in this episode. In the second quarter, American Airlines bested United with a 16% operating margin versus United’s 14%. One thing that went right for AA: Latin America. One thing that went wrong for United: Asia. Meanwhile, little […]

Ultra-worried?: Is the ultra-LCC business model running into trouble?

July 31, 2017

It was an earnings call so uncomfortable that anyone who listened or participated still recalls it well. “Is this really all you’ve got?” asked Jamie Baker, a Wall Street analyst. “I mean, in other businesses that I can think of, when there’s a company standing out like this, you sort of expect, you know, a […]

A Tale of Two Texas Cities: San Antonio is the bigger city. But airlines are flocking to Austin.

July 24, 2017

Last week was a great week for San Antonio International Airport. True, it was far from the only U.S. airport to benefit from Frontier’s blitz of new route announcements (21 new airports and 85 new routes; see page 8). But few airports got quite as much of Frontier’s attention as San Antonio—the ultra-LCC blessed it […]

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AW Quoted In The Media

It’s Time to Let Air France-KLM’s New CEO Take Charge, Skift, Feb. 14

German Airline Sues Passenger For Skipping Last Leg Of Flight, NPR Here & Now, Feb. 13

International Tourism To U.S. Has Slowed Since Trump Took Office, Study Finds, NPR Here & Now, Feb. 6

Wellness at 30,000 Feed: Now Airlines Compete for Your Peace of Mind, Ozy, Feb. 3

Could airport delays speed up the end of government shutdown?, Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 19

Here are the 5 ideas being proposed for O'Hare's massive expansion, Chicago Tribune, Jan. 16

'Blue flu': TSA agents are no-show amid shutdown because they 'cannot afford to work for free', Yahoo! Finance, Jan. 16

RSS The Airline Weekly Lounge

  • Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 112: Prediction Affliction January 9, 2019
  • Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 111: Deal. No deal. Deal? December 12, 2018
  • Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 110: A Mess in Mexico November 28, 2018
  • Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 109: Happy at Heathrow November 13, 2018
  • Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 108: Is AA OK? October 31, 2018
  • Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 107: Amazing Race October 17, 2018
  • Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 106: Not So Sunny October 4, 2018
  • Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 105: Satisfaction in Sydney September 12, 2018
  • Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 104: Better—But Not Good August 28, 2018
  • Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 103: Canadian Conundrum August 14, 2018

Recent Cover Stories

  • Shanghai Is China’s Largest Airline Market February 18, 2019
  • Airline Weekly Lounge Is on Hiatus February 15, 2019
  • U.S. Airlines Find Success and Revitalized Revenues February 11, 2019
  • Canada’s Changing Airline Landscape February 4, 2019
  • Amid Moderation, a ULCC Sensation January 28, 2019

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