Issue Overview
Aside from a few
stragglers like Hainan Airlines, Philippine Airlines, and El Al, fourth-quarter
earnings season is now finished. Those were simpler times, featuring familiar
names near the top of industry profit rankings: Delta, IAG, Copa, etc.
Brazilian airlines, interestingly, enjoyed extraordinarily strong fourth
quarters, with Gol topping all airlines worldwide with a 26% Q4 operating
margin. For all of 2019, Gol was the industry’s third most profitable airline,
behind only Allegiant and Air Arabia.
