Qantas continues to romp. In the first half of 2018, the flying kangaroo posted a 9% profit margin—one point better than in the same period last year. And with that, Qantas is working on its fourth consecutive calendar year with double-digit margins. Despite more exposure to rising fuel prices, Air New Zealand still mostly kept […]
Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 92: Kiwis and Kangaroos
Life is good in Australasia—especially if you’re Qantas or Air New Zealand. Both carriers are enjoying a bit of a golden age that stems from good management and some macro tailwinds. Meanwhile, Virgin Australia, seemingly unable to catch those tailwinds, drifted toward a disheartening 2% operating profit margin in 2017. Scandinavia’s SAS, meanwhile, had a […]
Borghetti Gets Sweaty: With earnings still weak, Virgin Australia’s CEO again seeks help from foreign airlines
Virgins don’t survive on their own. That’s the lesson drawn from Virgin Atlantic’s partial sale to Delta, Virgin America’s all-out sale to Alaska and a much earlier transaction between Belgium’s Virgin Express and what today is Brussels Airlines. The most striking example of all, however, is the case of Virgin Australia. Once independent, strong and […]
Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 47: Turkish Troubles
Turkish Airlines and its cross-town rival Pegasus were seeing trouble in their business before the attack on Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport. In this episode we try to assess—or at least speculate—how the attack will further hurt the two airlines’ prospects. Also, could Turkish’s business model, which relies heavily on sixth-freedom traffic, be especially vulnerable here? […]
Airline Weekly Lounge – Episode 30: The Boomerang Effect
After hitting the floor in 2013, Qantas, has—like a boomerang—come all the way back and more. In fact, the Australian carrier set an annual profit record in 2015. Despite enjoying the same advantages inherent to the Land of Oz right now, Virgin Australia has not found the same level of fortune. But in terms of […]