Seth Kaplan

For the moment, WestJet is the more profitable carrier. But in recent years, Air Canada has closed the gap and, in the first quarter of 2018, we see signs that…

As recently as last year’s second quarter, Alaska Airlines was America’s most profitable airline. Its extraordinary 23% operating margin for the spring period didn’t surprise anyone. It was, after all,…

Five years ago, America’s small-city air service was shrinking. Take the second quarter of 2013, as an example, when the country’s busiest 50 airports (Atlanta to Columbus, at the time)…

Things could hardly be more different for two airlines in the same country. In one corner of the ring, Virgin Australia is bloodied and battered. In the other, Qantas has…

Revenues for U.S. carriers remained terrifically healthy in the first quarter, and everybody made money. But rising labor and fuel costs generally shrunk year-over-year profit margins. United, which continues to…

There were two dominant themes in the U.S. airline business during the opening quarter of 2018: 1) Demand was red hot, and 2) Fuel prices were way up. Unfortunately, trend…

It’s a good time to be a Japanese airline. The country’s two dominant carriers, All Nippon and Japan Airlines, both earned solid if not spectacular profits last year, fueled by…

For a second straight year, Delta’s operating profit margin has fallen year-over-year in the first quarter. The reason for the decline, once again, is rising costs. The good news: Rising…

JetBlue and Alaska Airlines have a lot in common. Both are narrowbody-only operators with reputations for good customer service. Both have networks that combine lots of shorthaul northsouth coastal flying…

Numbers were put to the misery South African Airways has been experiencing when, last month, the airline finally reported earnings for its fiscal year ending in March 2017. Those numbers…