The skies are starting to look a little friendlier to United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAUA). The airline reported a quarterly loss that was lower than expected. Third quarter traffic was off only 2.9%, but because United used discounts to fill seats, revenue fell 20.3% (to $4.43 billion). The key to a recovery will be getting passengers to shell out for more expensive seats. According to United's president, John Tague, "There's no opportunity here for a full revenue recovery until we get premium cabin pricing back." He doesn't know how long this is going to take, but does say that he's seen progress over the past few months.

Nonetheless, it's important not to confuse "not so bad" with "making money." UAL lost $57 million (39 cents a share) last quarter. If it hadn't had some good news on fuel hedges and accounting issues, the loss would have been 43 cents a share. Again, this is better than analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected: they were forecasting a loss of 94 cents per share. And, the third quarter loss was much better than last year's $792 million for the third quarter.

But, it all comes down to the bottom line, and a loss is a loss is a loss.

Continue reading UAL has almost good news for third quarter

UAL has almost good news for third quarter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you think all those new airline fees were a temporary measure to help these beleaguered companies through an economic crisis, you're out of your mind. Now that they've had a taste of how much they can make by charging you for an extra bag or a little more leg room, they're hooked. More important, the fees are making up a meaningful portion of airline revenues and profits, so investors aren't likely to be satisfied with a return to normal - well, they can't. Extra fees are the new "normal."

Continue reading Extra airline fees to become the new 'normal'

Extra airline fees to become the new 'normal' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AMR Corporation (NYSE: AMR) got spanked in the second quarter, as frequent fliers kept their feet on the ground. The American Airlines parent posted a $390 million loss in a quarter that historically has been kind to travel companies. AMR rationalizes the results with the thought that the loss would have been only $319 million ($1.14 per share) if charges related to selling and grounding planes were excluded. This would have put the airline ahead of analyst expectations of a $1.28 per share loss. AMR's Q2 revenue fell 21% to $4.89 billion.

And, it's far better than the airline's performance in the second quarter of 2008.

Continue reading AMR loses in Q2, however you measure it

AMR loses in Q2, however you measure it originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.