Airline Finance News - North America

AirGuide Business, April 28, 2008

Northwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines

Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines announced losses in the billions for the first quarter, a week after announcing a $17.7 billion merger deal, stemming from high fuel costs and big charges. Atlanta-based Delta reported 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. Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest reported a $4.14 billion loss in the first quarter, or $15.78 per share, compared to a loss of $292 million, or $3.34 per share, a year earlier. Sales grew to $3.13 billion from $2.87 billion. Apr 23, 2008

Southwest Airlines

Few airlines hedge enough to put a dent in fuel's spike Most large airlines did not hedge enough to offset the spike in fuel prices, observers say. The exception is Southwest Airlines, which has an aggressive hedging strategy in place. "Hedging costs money," said Stephen Schork, who writes a newsletter on oil and gasoline. "Given how tight the margins are, some have opted to fly by the seat of their pants." Apr 24, 2008

United Airlines

United boosts fares up to 5% to counteract fuel's spike United Airlines boosted U.S. airfares by up to 5% on Thursday. The move is aimed at offsetting increasing fuel prices and is the third increase initiated by United in a little over two weeks. Apr 25, 2008

United Airlines

United Airlines is complying with its credit agreements and held an unrestricted cash balance of $2.9 billion as of March 31. It also said it has roughly $3 billion in unencumbered assets. Apr 23, 2008

United Airlines

United boosts change fee to offset skyrocketing fuel costs. United Airlines said it is raising the fee that it charges to rebook tickets, and it added a Saturday-night stay requirement on routes where it competes with other major carriers. The increase is part of an effort to offset soaring fuel prices. Apr 21, 2008

United Airlines, Continental Airlines

United Airlines and Continental Airlines are getting closer to a merger agreement and would like to wrap up a deal by the end of next week, according to people with direct knowledge of the discussions. The negotiations, which have been under way for months, accelerated after Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines announced a $3 billion deal on April 14 that would create the nation's biggest air carrier. The talks between United and Continental are in an advanced stage but are not yet complete, the people who had been briefed on them said Friday. They requested anonymity because the talks were private. The two airlines would like to be finished by Thursday, these people added, although the negotiations could easily run into delays. As with Delta and Northwest, United and Continental would like to win regulatory approval before President Bush leaves office rather than risk delays that could take place under a new president. Continental is getting ready to provide details of any possible deal, at least if its Web page is any indication. The airline, based in Houston, has posted a link on its home page to a new part of its site that looks as if it can be transformed into a merger information page, as soon as a deal occurs. The page went live on April 15, a Continental spokesman, Dave Messing, said Friday, but only began attracting attention this week. Messing declined to comment further. A United spokeswoman, Jean Medina, said the company did not comment on "rumors or speculation." Apr 26, 2008