IATA AGM opens against mixed signals from industry

Miami Beach (FL), June 7, 2015: The International Air Transport Assn. (IATA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) opens against a backdrop of conflicting signals from the industry, including from the organization itself. On the one hand, IATA said last… Read More

Pontifications: Fare and market share wars

May 25, 2015, c. Leeham Co. Airline stocks took a dive last week when it appeared fare wars and eroding capacity discipline is beginning among US carriers. Southwest Airlines said it will be adding capacity at the rate… Read More

Odds and Ends: A350 batteries; A350 V 1.0; Southwest schedule

A350 batteries: Flight Global has a detailed story about the Airbus approach to lithium-ion batteries in the A350. The approach is more conservative than Boeing’s for the 787. A350 Version 1.0: A blog called A350 XWB News has… Read More

CASM Paradigm: Lower Seat Mile Cost or Higher Yield; Evaluating the GOL competition

Subscription Required Introduction As Brazil’s budget airline GOL reportedly evaluates whether to acquire 20 Boeing 737-7s or Embraer E-195 E2s, the principal of the “CASM Paradigm” is a concept worth examining. This head-to-head evaluation of the E-195 E2… Read More

Odds and Ends: KC-46A update; A440M in the US; A320neo first flight; Southwest no longer an LCC

KC-46A update: Aviation Week has an update on the status of the Boeing KC-46A tanker. Among other things, first fight has now been moved from June to November at the earliest. A400M in the US: Airbus thinks it’s… Read More

Alaska-Delta Battle in Seattle comes at the expense of United, Southwest

National media and trade magazines are paying attention to the increasing battle between Alaska Air Group (Alaska Airlines and Horizon Airlines) and Delta Air Lines (including its regional airline partners) in the Battle in Seattle as the latter… Read More

Southwest Air’s expansion to resume next year, says CEO

Southwest Airlines plans to complete the integration of AirTran by the end of this year, positioning the carrier to resume expansion into new markets, says CEO Gary Kelly. In an interview last week at WN’s Dallas headquarters, Kelly… Read More

Southwest sticks with continuous hub/point-to-point as core business strategy

American Airlines plans to shift from continuous hubbing at three of its major cities–an operational process where flights flow throughout the day–to return to traditional peak-and-valley hubbing. But Southwest Airlines, despite many significant changes to its business model… Read More

American easing away from continuous hubbing, returning to peak banking

American Airlines will ease away from the continuous hubbing that smooths operations at key airports, increases aircraft utilization and cuts costs as it returns to the peak-and-valley hub-and-spoke system adopted decades ago under former CEO Robert Crandall. Although… Read More

Airbus Group beats expections for first quarter results

Airbus Group beat expectations for its first quarter profit. Continuing research and development costs weighed on earnings before one-time charges. Earnings before interest and the charges were actually down slightly vs 2013 but were better than expectations. Group… Read More