Articles tagged “North America”

As is customary, Delta was first out the gates in reporting its quarterly earnings. There were plenty of warnings, but executives also highlighted underlying strengths in the business.

The whole world was watching. On Wednesday, Delta became the first major U.S. travel company to report first quarter earnings. What would it say about the crisis in confidence unfolding throughout the U.S. economy? How much worse have things gotten in the past month, since Delta first warned about deteriorating demand trends?

This week we examine our turbulent economic skies, including the impact of tariffs and oil prices on airline operations and demand.

Alright, so here we go again. Something’s gone awry in the world, and airlines are among the first to feel it. Following last week’s U.S. plan to essentially dismantle the global trading system, uncertainty has reached a fever-pitch. In this week's feature story we deep-dive into one of the thorniest battles in this emerging economic conflict, and ask how (or perhaps, if) Canada's airlines can come out fighting.

Is there ever a good time to start a new airline? Certainly not during a pandemic. Recurrent airline founder David Neeleman launched Breeze Airways in May 2021, a month in which U.S. airports handled just 50 million passengers. Last May, for perspective, they handled 80 million. In this week's feature story we examine the opportunities and the stubborn challenges of this plucky outlier that doesn't mind flying against the wind.

A longterm plan to rightsize the federal government and reindustrialize the U.S.? Or economic suicide? To large swathes of corporate America right now, it feels like the latter. Tariff uncertainty and mass layoffs are rattling consumer and business confidence while erasing trillions in value from stock markets. Are airlines affected? As America’s largest carriers made clear last week, the answer is an emphatic yes.  

For an airline, the closest thing to happiness is cheap fuel. No wonder so many American carriers are smiling. During the final quarter of 2024, U.S. airlines enjoyed a roughly 20% drop in jet fuel prices.

Southwest just had its first round of compulsory layoffs in its history. What does that mean for the low-cost pioneer and the industry as a whole?

There are plenty of ifs, buts, and maybes, however, if a Frontier-Spirit merger does occur, it'll shake up the U.S. airline industry in a huge way.

In a victory of sorts, JetBlue managed a slim Q4 profit. It wasn't a fantastic performance, but this reversed an operating loss in 2023’s fourth quarter. Might it mark the start of a much-needed turnaround? JetBlue delivered its earnings presentation a day before Frontier launched a new bid to buy Spirit. Will it consider a revised offer too? Or could JetBlue itself become an acquisition target? In this week's feature story we examine the latest ups and downs at New York's Hometown Airline.