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Posted
Sep 16 2009, 04:03 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 The global airline industry, still staggering from huge losses and bankruptcies late last year after oil prices passed $140 a barrel, is not doing much better in 2009. Low passenger traffic is the chief culprit, but crude at $70 after a sharp dip early in the year puts on significant additional pressure.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released its new forecast for worldwide airline losses this year and it moved up $2 billion to $11 billion. “The bottom line of this crisis – with combined 2008-9 losses at $27.8 billion – is larger than the impact of 9/11,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
The industry is so heavily burdened with debt that weak demand during the upcoming holiday season will threaten to sink some carriers. Japan Air has already announced nearly 7,000 layoffs and the Asia carrier is looking for a cash infusion from AirFrance-KLM or a major US carrier–perhaps American Airlines.
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Posted
Sep 11 2009, 03:30 PM
by
Anthony Mirhaydari
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Airline stocks were big movers this week after the release of positive analyst reports from J.P. Morgan and Barclays Capital. This helped push up the airline sector in particular and transportation stocks in general. UAL Corp. (UAUA), the parent of United Airlines, gained 21.4% this week while US Airways (LCC) gained 19.2%. Compare this to the 2.6% rise in the S&P 500.
Transportation stocks tend to act as a leading indicator for both the broad market and the economy, so bullishness here is a good sign traders believe the economy is healing.
I snagged copies of both reports. The team at J.P. Morgan believes that we won't see any airline bankruptcies this winter based on better-than-expected revenue trends in July and August as well as stable fuel prices. In their words, they suggest "everyone makes it, this time." Barclays Capital believes many "underestimate the potential for a significant airline revenue recovery."
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Posted
Sep 04 2009, 08:43 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 Airplane food -- the butt of a thousand jokes -- is getting upgraded this summer at some airlines. Soon, you might see sushi, ice cream and gourmet cheese served during your flight, The Wall Street Journal reports.
It's an odd thing to do, in this age of cost-cutting, and particularly as airlines are increasingly threatened with swine flu and the downturn in corporate travel. But better food is being eyed as a profit center for airlines. Food-for-purchase has been a bust (could the quality be any worse?) and any profits made usually went to cover the cost of the food that was thrown out. Bing: How to DIY airplane food
Now, the idea is to provide food in coach that actually tastes good -- for free or at a cost.
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Posted
Aug 18 2009, 10:10 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 If you make a flight reservation from now on, you may be asked for your date of birth, and to state whether you're male or female.
The government is asking for the new information, hoping to make it harder for terrorists to use boarding passes to get on airplanes, The Wall Street Journal reports. The move is part of a program called Secure Flight, and stems from safety recommendations that followed the 2001 terrorist attacks. Bing: More on Secure Flight
The goal, according to the Journal, is to "vet all passengers on domestic commercial flights by early next year." So how exactly would the information be used? The government has a list of
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Posted
Aug 12 2009, 12:54 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Continental Airlines' offer of refunds and travel vouchers to the 47 people kept overnight on a grounded commuter plane wouldn't fly with Linda Maddox if she had been one of those passengers.
"Oh yeah, what I want from you now is a VOUCHER for another flight, so I can get trapped in another one of your cans ... again. Give me a refund, and I'll call a cab," Linda, who is claustrophobic, commented at The Two-Way blog at NPR.
Could this latest outrage be the one that breaks the opposition to the proposed air passengers' bill of rights?
"If senators don't think the air-travel bill is as important as health care and some other issues, maybe they should hold a town hall meeting with the 47 passengers who were forced to sit on a grounded airplane for six hours last weekend in Rochester, Minn.," opined Maine's Kennebec Journal.
Tom Belden said at Winging It, "Whatever, I suspect the chances of Congress actually adopting federal rules for treatment of airline customers during long tarmac delays just got a lot better with a tale from a flight this weekend."
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Posted
Aug 04 2009, 05:00 PM
by
Teresa Mears
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
It turns out we are not the only ones bothered by the difficulty of making travel reservations online. A new report released today by Forrester Research found that 15% fewer travelers enjoy using the Web to make travel arrangements than they did in 2007.
Only one in three travelers believes travel Web sites do a good job of presenting choices.
"What we've seen is growing frustration," Henry H. Harteveldt, a Forrester travel analyst, told The New York Times. "Consumers see other Web sites becoming easier to use -- retail Web sites, banking Web sites, media Web sites. But travel is treading water as a category. There are very few travel companies that are really looking to improve the planning and booking process."
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Posted
Jul 30 2009, 02:07 PM
by
Teresa Mears
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
These days, buying an airline ticket is a cross between a major online research paper and playing the lottery. Which airline has the lowest fare? Will an airline with a better schedule match it tomorrow? Will there be a better deal next week? What about baggage fees?
If you live near several airports, which has the best deal to your destination? Don't forget to take into account the cost to get to the airport and the charge to park your car, which can exceed $10 a day where we live.
We thought earlier this month that airfares had gone as low as they were going to go this summer But this week, several airlines announced new sales, most for travel starting in mid-August. Can you get a better deal now? Maybe. It depends on where you want to go and when. But move quickly. The sales at Southwest (no bag check fees) and Spirit airlines end today. The sales at Delta and Frontier have various expiration dates, and other airlines have matched those prices. We're going to book some fall trips today.
Will prices be lower or higher next week? Who knows? Bing has some new tools for predicting airfares, but not all cities are included yet.
We just hope we don't have to change our plans, because the high change and cancellation fees will easily wipe out any savings from buying discount tickets in advance.
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Posted
Jul 27 2009, 02:52 PM
by
James Dlugosch
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
The single biggest risk threatening your portfolio has nothing to do with the economy, credit crisis, global recession, massive unemployment, easy monetary policy, green shoots or corporate earnings.
No, the single biggest risk to your portfolio is the swine flu. Health officials recently projected that up to 40 percent of Americans could contract swine flu this year and next.
One of the industries likely to be hardest hit by a swine flu pandemic is the airline industry. Airline stocks have been big losers so far in 2009, but green shoots are appearing in the form of firmer load factors and price increases that are sticking.
But don't be fooled. The perpetual bust cycle of the airline industry is likely to strike again as the flu season ramps up this fall. Given the spread of the virus through human contact, load factors will surely fall as individuals seek to defend themselves from contracting the flu.
Insulate your portfolio from a pandemic by selling these three airline stocks now.
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Posted
Jul 23 2009, 03:44 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Here's the strangest proof we've seen to date that the airline industry ain't what it used to be. According to the Los Angeles Times, airline pilots and other employees are living in a collection of 100 campers and RVs in Parking Lot B of Los Angeles International Airport, less than 3,500 feet from the south runway.
It has the feel of a modern-day shantytown, replete with the sounds and smell of jets coming in for a landing at the nation's third busiest airport. Parking the motor home at a Wal-Mart sounds glamorous compared with this.
The LA Times reports:
It is a drab expanse of crumbling gray asphalt, approach lights, chain-link fencing and rows of beige and white RVs -- some battered, others grand. A splash of color comes from the red and white blooms of about a dozen rose bushes along the colony's northern edge.
But it's a steal. Rent for each space is only $60 a month.
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Posted
Jul 08 2009, 03:44 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 Airline price wars are back, just when carriers cannot afford them. The price of jet fuel is up. Passenger traffic is down.
Southwest (LUV) is offering fares as low as $30 each way on short flights and $90 on longer ones.
Southwest, which has a strong balance sheet, may be able to afford cutting ticket prices to bring in customers. Larger carriers such as American (AMR) and United (UAUA) have huge debt burdens and are actually in the process of raising ticket prices and fees on items, including extra baggage, to make up for growing losses. A prolonged period of having to match low fares from discount carriers could drive the legacy airlines closer to the bankruptcies some investors already fear.
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