Airlines Need a Corporate Travel Revival For Transcontinental Success
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It was a week of disappointment for American Airlines and JetBlue , who spent the time digesting the ramifications of a judicial order to end their northeast alliance. By all accounts, it was working well for both carriers. American did downplay the impact in a presentation to investors last week (at a conference hosted by Wolfe Research). It said the ruling will not materially impact earnings, though it does throw a wrench into its New York strategy. JetBlue will feel it more. And besides, another big legal fight remains: Will the Justice Department also get its way and put a stop to JetBlue’s takeover of Spirit?
Speaking of takeovers, 汉莎航空 pulled the trigger on its risky investment in ITA Airways , hoping to succeed where Air France-KLM and Etihad once failed. Is this time different? Or will the ghosts of Alitalia again come haunting?
There’s never much of anything haunting Ryanair - Europe's Favourite Airline , which anticipates a lucrative summer. Qantas too, is rosy about conditions for the next few months at least. Back in the U.S., Memorial Day weekend means the traditional start of the summer travel season, which is shaping up to be a great one for airlines. Everything seems stronger and better than before the Covid crisis: leisure demand, premium demand, small business demand, average fares … even fuel prices, if not overall costs, are rather benign. Travel among America’s corporate titans, however, is an exception. It’s still depressed, with troubling implications for the important transcontinental market. Alas, more bad news for JetBlue.
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Airline Weekly Lounge Podcast
Icelandair had a rough few years before and during Covid. But the airline believes it has turned the financial corner, and forecasts its best results in seven years. Edward Russell and Jay Shabat discuss. Plus, Turkish Airlines’ big plans for Anadolujet. Listen to The Return of Icelandair here.
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AW Daily Headlines
A shift is underway in how Europeans get around. Air travel is still king with discounters, like Ryanair and Wizz Air, carrying record numbers of fliers around the continent.
The Lufthansa Group has agreed to buy 41 percent of Italy's state-owned ITA Airways for €325 million ($348 million), the culmination of more than a decade of wrangling to secure a larger piece of the Italian market.?
U.S. airlines expect to fly a record number of travelers this summer despite a national air traffic controller shortage and other issues limiting the number of flights.?
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg warned Tuesday of the air traffic controller shortage stretching well beyond this summer as the Federal Aviation Administration works to rebuild its ranks after the pandemic.?