Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 96: Profit Preservation for U.S. Carriers

Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 96: Profit Preservation for U.S. Carriers

Revenues for U.S. carriers remained terrifically healthy in the first quarter, and everybody made money. But rising labor and fuel costs generally shrunk year-over-year profit margins. United, which continues to trail Delta and American in profitability, did a pretty good job of preserving its margin. Profits slid a bit more at American, but it was especially buoyant in Latin America, where AA is the leading U.S. carrier. One airline that saw rather grisly margin deterioration was Alaska as fuel, labor and maintenance cost increases severely outpaced revenues. JetBlue and Spirit both did okay, but one was happier than the other. Southwest and Hawaiian posted handsome 12% margins in the off-peak quarter. Meanwhile, Allegiant was in a class by itself, posting a 19% first-quarter profit margin.

Episoder(423)

American Airlines Is Falling Behind. Here’s Why

American Airlines Is Falling Behind. Here’s Why

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Icelandair: Moving in the Right Direction?

Icelandair: Moving in the Right Direction?

In part one of this week's show, Gordon and Jay crunch the latest financials from Icelandair and discuss how it plans to become sustainably profitable. In part two, the conversation turns to global ai...

12 Feb 38min

Japan Airlines vs. ANA: Who's On Top?

Japan Airlines vs. ANA: Who's On Top?

In this week's show, Gordon and Jay discuss the latest results from Japan's two mega-airline groups. With inbound visitor numbers soaring, but domestic air travel down, we analyze the key financial an...

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U.S. Earnings Season: Half-Time Report

U.S. Earnings Season: Half-Time Report

In part one of this week's show, Gordon and Jay discuss the latest quarterly earnings from American Airlines and JetBlue. In part two, the discussion turns to Ryanair, with a deep dive into its financ...

29 Jan 36min

New from Skift: Executive Conversations Shaping the Travel Industry

New from Skift: Executive Conversations Shaping the Travel Industry

We’re sharing a preview of a new podcast from Skift called Skift Take Sessions. Skift Take Sessions is a weekly, journalist-led podcast built from the most important conversations shaping the global ...

26 Jan 2min

Delta vs United: Premium Boom, Economy Squeeze

Delta vs United: Premium Boom, Economy Squeeze

It is earnings season, and this week on the Airline Weekly Lounge, Jay Shabat and Meghna Maharishi break down Q4 2025 results from United and Delta, recorded on Wednesday, January 21, 2026. They comp...

22 Jan 21min

Allegiant–Sun Country Merger: What’s Really at Stake?

Allegiant–Sun Country Merger: What’s Really at Stake?

In this special edition of the Airline Weekly Lounge, Gordon is joined by Jay and Meghna to discuss Allegiant's plan to acquire Sun Country Airlines for $1.5 Billion. Fresh off the phone with Allegian...

12 Jan 34min

Inside the Ethiopian Airlines Playbook

Inside the Ethiopian Airlines Playbook

Ethiopian Airlines is one of African aviation's outstanding success stories. We explore how the carrier grew profitably, built global reach, and what its strategy means for the future of the sector. I...

8 Jan 42min

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