Month: October 2009

Third Quarter Results Make Airlines Look Smart

Third-quarter results showed the benefits of more than a year of reducing capacity, and of adding incremental fees that provided each of the three largest carriers with at least $1 billion annually in new revenue. Airlines, it seemed, were one of the few industries that actually prepared for the recent recession.

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Airlines Report Healthy Quarterly Profits

JetBlue Airways, AirTran Airways, Allegiant Air and Alaska Airlines all recorded healthy profits. Alaska stood way out, with a quarterly profit of $88 million and an operating margin of a healthy 16.5%. Alaska saw a smaller drop in unit revenue than its peers—the airline has little exposure to overseas routes that have been hit hard by the deep recession. Maybe these numbers are a sign that good service wins when money’s tight.

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