Good Is Good Enough: Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 72


The earnings picture for U.S. carriers in the first quarter was much worse than last year’s Q1—but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t good. It was indeed good—and good is good. Their success comes while wrestling with rising labor and fuel costs, and fickle demand.

Allegiant continues to lead, and with confidence surely brimming, it’s buying new planes and slowing growth. American is benefiting from improving conditions in South American and at its Dallas-Fort Worth hub. Despite a big profit decline, Southwest posted a double-digit profit margin. JetBlue had a particularly bad fuel bill. Spirit is enduring an operational mess. And Alaska did just fine despite some bad weather.

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.