On June 5, Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines announced that it was de-hubbing its once robust hub at Memphis International Airport, marking the end of a historic operation that dated back to the mid-1970s when Southern Airways launched a secondary hub to complement its Atlanta operation. Over the next 30-plus years, the operation grew and prospered, first under the umbrella of Republic Airways, and then as the gateway to the Southeast …Read More
Post-merger United Airlines well-positioned for a 2013 recovery
2012 was a difficult year for Chicago-based full service carrier United Airlines, who reported a 2012 full year net profit of US$589 million excluding special charges of US$1.3 billion. For the last quarter of 2012, United lost US$190 million excluding US$430 million in special charges as the airline grappled with the effects of “Superstorm Sandy” and lingering customer unease over the carrier’s operational issues throughout the course of 2012. The …Read More
Optimism returns to aviation
There is renewed optimism for the airline industry, going by the latest industry body Geneva-based International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecast that 2013 will see an improvement in global airline profitability from US$6.7 billion to US$8.4 billion. This has been revised from an earlier estimate of US$7.5 billion. IATA chief economist Brian Pearce said: “I think we are past the low point, which was earlier this year.” The positive mood …Read More
Bankrupt American Airlines tells a familiar tale
It’s a familiar American airline story. Delta Air Lines went through it, so did United Airlines. Now it is Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines’ turn to carry the can. But for American this time, it never rains but pours. Parent AMR Corporation is operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. A take-over by the fifth-largest US carrier US Airways is on the cards, while American waits out for a better deal. …Read More
Boeing 737 MAX ups the ante in dogfight with A320neo
At last year’s Paris Air Show, there were blue skies and the airline industry managed to stay relatively healthy despite soaring oil prices and an anaemic global economic recovery, with a year-end industry-wide profit of US$7.9 billion, according to Geneva-based industry body International Air Transport Association (IATA). Fast forward 12 months and the global economy was in a very different shape. Having gone through the fear of contagion in the …Read More
The showdown in re-engined narrowbody battle begins
As the global economy takes a turn for the worse with weakening passenger yields and a cargo doldrum significantly hurting airlines’ bottom line, there is little visibility beyond the runway, let alone leaping into the unknown by spending billions of dollars on hundreds of shiny new metals that are not going to be delivered five to six years from now, if not longer. It is against this backdrop that the …Read More