Is China’s slowing economy taking its toll on the country’s Big Three carriers? So far Air China, China Eastern and China Southern have held up well and posted a rather good 2015. But the fourth quarter of 2015 showed some signs of deterioration—even by ...

Alaska Airlines clearly wants to be the dominant carrier on the West Coast, and if its purchase of Virgin America goes through, it will have four focus cities—Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle—all clustered on the Pacific. Such a network m...

If the U.S. airline market were to see even more consolidation, what kind of effect would it have? That’s one question we consider in a discussion about the possible acquisition of Virgin America by another airline. We also talk about possible consolidat...

Attacks at airports are rare, and Tuesday’s bombing at Brussels Airport will no doubt have repercussions around the world. Which airlines will see the worst financial impact from the attacks? Brussels Airlines, not surprisingly, is most vulnerable. Unfor...

It’s good to be a Gulf carrier—Gulf carriers are well positioned to connect the whole world. But it might be better to be a near-the-Gulf carrier like Turkish Airlines. Turkish offers a blend of service as an intercontinental carrier and also as a gatewa...

After hitting the floor in 2013, Qantas, has—like a boomerang—come all the way back and more. In fact, the Australian carrier set an annual profit record in 2015. Despite enjoying the same advantages inherent to the Land of Oz right now, Virgin Australia...

IAG, the airline group that includes British Airways, Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus, is continuing its run of success—a run that probably has peers such as Air France/KLM and Lufthansa feeling a bit envious. In fact, while those two companies struggle w...

What’s it gonna take to fix Air France/KLM? The airline group has a number of problems—from labor inflexibility to a soft French economy—all in a very competitive part of the world. But there are reasons for hope: Gulf carriers could one day slow their g...

Finnair, Norwegian and Icelandair all had rather forgettable off-peak fourth quarters, but not because of the chilly weather they are all enduring. Rather, each has a unique set of challenges and opportunities. Finnair’s challenges include exposure to As...

Singapore Airlines swung back to solid profits in 2015. Does this turnaround mean the airline is returning to its former glory, not seen since 2010? Or are low fuel prices just making everyone look good? Korean Air and Asiana continue to struggle with pr...

JetBlue’s big fourth quarter was kind of a big deal. Low oil prices essentially mean that every airline is making money right now, but JetBlue’s 21% operating margin is about more than just oil prices. The airline is changing, and the results are visible...

Where Delta’s revenues were relatively resilient, United’s are rapidly receding, at least in the fourth quarter. In Episode 24—informally “part two” of U.S. earnings season—we discuss the sources of United’s revenue declines and the many moves the airlin...

Delta kicked off earnings season with—yawn—another record-breaking fourth quarter highlighted by a pre-tax profit that starts with a “b” (and ends with an “illion.”) The success is coming from a lot of baskets including cheap oil, operational performance...

Regardless of whether it’s up or down, India’s airline market tends to be one of thrills and spills. And right now, we’re seeing both—IndiGo is providing the thrills, Air India the spills. Meanwhile, Jet Airways and SpiceJet are holding their own. Believ...

Ultra-low-cost carriers like Frontier Airlines are facing in 2016 a whole different animal—a beast that we call “fare compression.” In fact, America in 2016 might see a first-time experiment in which the ultra-low-cost model goes up against the forces of...

Mexico is finding joy in a low-cost carrier renaissance as Volaris, Interjet and VivaAerobus are all growing and profiting. But the profits aren’t being distributed equally. Why is one carrier performing so much better than another? Also, how long can th...

Shouldn’t Doug Parker be dancing in the end zone? He is, after all, the CEO of a mega-airline with mega-profits at a time of economic strength and falling fuel prices. But even this airline has challenges. In this week’s episode, we ask him how American ...

The number of challenges facing Korean Air could fill an A380. Nonetheless the airline remains quite profitable. Korean Air’s prime competitor, Asiana, has not been as fortunate, and we discuss the differences. Meanwhile, Aegean Airlines is doing just fi...

Not so surprisingly, easyJet wrapped up a strong earnings season in Europe with some strong numbers of its own. We looked at what’s working for easyJet but also why it can’t quite top rivals Ryanair or Wizz Air. Then it’s pretty much all downhill from th...

More than anything, Spirit Airlines’ business model is built on low fares, which it uses to stimulate demand and fill its planes. But what happens when fuel prices drop, enabling airlines like JetBlue to drop fares too? In a wide-ranging interview, we as...

Whew! The busiest week of earnings season has us hustling. We kick off our around-the-world sprint with IAG, the airline group that is British Airways, Iberia, Vueling and more recently Aer Lingus. While IAG led Europe’s Big Three in profits, Lufthansa n...

Well that didn’t last long. American Airlines, the biggest carrier in the world, set a new quarterly profit record, with a $1.9b net profit in the third quarter. Of course, there are some technicalities at play here, but it broke Delta’s two-week old rec...

How did Delta achieve its record-breaking quarter? We touch on some of the root causes, including Delta’s push for cheap aircraft and near-perfect operations. Also, we discuss Delta’s plan for flat or zero capacity growth in the fourth quarter. And will ...

Lufthansa is facing competition from Ryanair, Wizz Air, easyJet, Air Berlin, Vueling, Turkish Airlines, Emirates and probably your brother. Competition is not a new thing, but the severity is growing. Meanwhile, Air New Zealand resides in a small country...

In airline years, Southwest is certainly old enough to be put out to pasture. Instead, the massive airline is making money like never before. Could some of its contrarian moves, like no bag fees, actually be working? Or is it something else? Oil prices a...