Articles tagged “North America”

Has Delta Dodged the Storm?

Tariff uncertainty. A slowing job market. Negative Q1 GDP. Does a fragile American economy spell trouble for U.S. airlines? There’s seemingly no need to panic. All is well, at least for Delta. The carrier kicked off Q2 earnings season not just the airline industry but all of Corporate America. Were the numbers any good? Yes, but with some caveats, as we explain in this week’s feature story.

Summer in America: A Q3 U.S. Preview

Welcome to the new U.S. airline industry. United is now friends with JetBlue. Southwest will now charge you for bags. United and American are both investing in Brazil. Delta is investing in Canada. But is this a new and improved U.S. airline industry? That will likely depend on what wins the race to the bottom: Demand, supply, or fuel costs? All three are declining, as we discuss in this week's feature story.

Allegiant’s Unique LCC Story

Allegiant earned a +9% operating margin in Q1 2025. That seems downright triumphant compared to Southwest’s figure of -2%, Frontier’s -5%, or JetBlue’s -8%, but context is key. In 2019, Allegiant’s operating margin in the first quarter was 20%. In other words, it’s performing 11 points worse today, a drop repeated at most of its LCC peers. In this week's feature story, we ask what's going on.

A Q1 Check-In on American, Alaska, and Southwest

Q1 earnings season started off pleasantly enough: Delta showed nice profits. United showed nice profits. Last week, by contrast, American, Southwest, and Alaska all revealed Q1 losses. As you’ll read below, the news wasn’t all bad. Premium demand, for example, seems still immune from the brewing economic storm. Fuel prices, meanwhile, are exactly where airlines want them to be: In the basement.

Will United’s Loyal Customers Shield it From a Downturn?

Brand loyal. Brand loyal. Brand loyal. Say that 31 times. Then again? You don’t need to. United already did. No kidding. In its Q1 earnings call last week, United repeated the phrase over and over, keen to underscore one of its chief arguments: That it is winning with travelers who care about more than just price. In this week's feature story, we crunch through the commentary from Kirby and Co.

The Scary Canary? Delta Speaks Up

The whole world was watching. On Wednesday, Delta became the first major U.S. travel company to report first quarter earnings. What would it say about the crisis in confidence unfolding throughout the U.S. economy? How much worse have things gotten in the past month, since Delta first warned about deteriorating demand trends?