Airline Finance News - North America

AirGuide Business, April 28, 2008

Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines posts Q1 loss on soaring fuel costs. Alaska Air on Thursday reported a quarterly loss of $35.9 million, more than triple the $10.3 million loss posted a year earlier. The airline cited higher fuel costs for the weaker results. Apr 25, 2008

Allegiant Air

Allegiant Air flew 427.7 million system RPMs in March, a 36.6% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 32.7% to 492.6 million ASMs and load factor rose 2.5 points to 86.8%. Apr 25, 2008

Aloha Airlines

A complaint filed by Aloha Airlines pilots alleges the carrier has disregarded their collective bargaining agreement by terminating pilots out of seniority order, among other things. The union has asked a bankruptcy court for an injunction against the airline. Apr 21, 2008

Aloha Airlines, Pacific Air Cargo

Aloha Airlines may sell its contract services to Pacific Air Cargo LLC for about $2 million, a bankruptcy judge ruled. The airline began taking bids on parts of its business after it filed for bankruptcy protection in March. Apr 25, 2008

American Airlines

American Airlines parent AMR investor cuts stake over several months. A large investor in AMR Corp. has cut its stake by about 20% over the past few months. Hall Phoenix/Inwood Ltd. and related investment firms now own about 9.9 million shares in the airline, or 3.9% of the company's total outstanding shares. Apr 24, 2008

Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines announced on March 18, a restructured 2008 business plan to focus on preserving liquidity in light of the significant increase in crude oil prices. The airline reevaluated its capacity, targeting reductions in or cancellations of unprofitable routes and has already implemented schedule changes to bring down domestic flying. Delta now expects system capacity for the second half of 2008 to be down up to 2 percent, with domestic capacity down 9 percent to 11 percent. Due to the capacity reduction, Delta is removing 15 to 20 mainline and 60 to 70 regional jet aircraft from its operations by the end of 2008. Delta is the third-largest carrier, and Northwest the ninth-largest, at Orlando International Airport, according to data compiled for the Orlando Business Journal 2008 Book of Lists. Apr 23, 2008

Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines on Wednesday posted a first-quarter loss of $6.39 billion. The company attributed the results to the sharp increase in the cost of fuel and a decrease in the company's market value. Northwest Airlines reported a quarterly loss of $4.14 billion, citing higher fuel costs and a charge taken during the quarte Apr 23, 2008

Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines forced, by record high fuel costs, into the red in the first quarter. The Atlanta-based airline had a net loss of $6.4 billion on $4.8 billion in revenue, compared with a net loss of $130 million on $4.2 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2007. Loss per share was $16.15, compared with break-even earnings in the first quarter last year. The results for the first quarter of 2008 include a $6.1 billion non-cash goodwill impairment charge from the decline in Delta's market capitalization due to sustained record fuel prices and a $16 million charge for severance for voluntary workforce reduction programs. Delta spent $1.4 billion on fuel in the first quarter, up 50 percent. The airline hedged 27 percent of its fuel consumption for an average fuel price of $2.85 a gallon. Delta realized $46 million in gains on fuel hedge contracts settled during the quarter. On March 18, Delta announced a restructured 2008 business plan to focus on preserving liquidity in light of the significant increase in crude oil prices. The airline reevaluated its capacity, targeting reductions in or cancellations of unprofitable routes, and has already implemented schedule changes to bring down domestic flying. Delta now expects system capacity for the second half of 2008 to be down up to 2 percent with domestic capacity down 9 percent to 11 percent. Due to the capacity reduction, Delta is removing 15 to 20 mainline and 60 to 70 regional jet aircraft from its operations by the end of 2008. On April 15, Delta reported a $17.7 billion deal to merge with Northwest Airlines, creating the world's biggest airline. Apr 22, 2008