Virgin Sacrificed: Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 70


The merger of Alaska Airlines and Virgin American is now well under way and begs the question: How is the integration taking shape? In a word: rosy. Of course, Alaska will be sacrificing the Virgin brand. But Alaska’s management says it’s finding more synergies on both the cost and revenue sides than expected. One of the more interesting moves is that Alaska won’t be joining the Big Three and JetBlue in providing a lie-flat product on transcontinental routes.

In other news, Norwegian is adding two new routes out of London Gatwick. While Virgin Atlantic reported a third consecutive annual profit in 2016, that streak might end in 2017. Lastly, Cathay Pacific reported its first annual loss since 2008 and there are, unfortunately, a few reasons that make a turnaround tough.

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTubeRSS

Up Next

The Airline Weekly Lounge Podcast

British Airways Is a Profit Machine

When the North Atlantic market is good, British Airways performs strongly. BA's spectacular numbers suggest something is going very right.
The Airline Weekly Lounge Podcast

Is India the World's Hottest Airline Market?

Gordon Smith and Jay Shabat set the scene for the upcoming Skift India Forum and preview the big topics ahead of interviews with the CEOs of Air India and IndiGo.
The Airline Weekly Lounge Podcast

Is Southwest Airlines Losing its Magic?

Southwest just had its first round of compulsory layoffs in its history. What does that mean for the low-cost pioneer and the industry as a whole?
The Airline Weekly Lounge Podcast

Breaking Down Japan Airlines and British Airways

After a sensational run of impressive profits in the 2010s, what can Japan Airlines do to restore its weakened commercial cut-through?
The Airline Weekly Lounge Podcast

What a Frontier-Spirit Merger Means for Air Travel

There are plenty of ifs, buts, and maybes, however, if a Frontier-Spirit merger does occur, it'll shake up the U.S. airline industry in a huge way.