Shocking as it may seem, most of the big domestic airlines did NOT lose a bucket full of money in the last quarter. In fact, they all (with the exception of American) did quite well. Delta appeared to do very well. Admittedly, I have not conducted any kind of complex analysis of the quarterly results. That said, it appears that the combination of reduced seat capacity, a slightly recovered economy, and increased demand have all come together to produce profits for the industry. All I can say is that it’s about time!
Why not American? I have some thoughts (that I’ll mostly keep to myself). While labor costs are part of the problem, they certainly aren’t the only problem…..and perhaps not even the largest issue American is facing. I won’t get into hot button political topics like the ongoing war between AA and its unions, or whether or not American should have filed for bankruptcy when they had the chance. But both sides need to get their acts together sooner rather than later.
