Article

2023-09-18 Economy

US Air Travel Suddenly Slows as Airlines Socked With Triple Whammy

[Messenger] Several U.S. airlines are reporting a sharp decline in consumer travel demand at a time when lower fares, pricier jet fuel, and more seats entering the market are complicating the financial outlook.

Ultra-low-cost airlines Spirit and Frontier are predicting losses for the third quarter. Frontier said Wednesday that its expected third-quarter profit has instead turned to red ink as "sales have been trending below historical seasonality patterns" in recent weeks.

"You’ve gone from industry sales being up, to flat, to now being down versus 2019, and that’s coming at a time that capacity is going up," Frontier CEO Barry Biffle said Wednesday at a Morgan Stanley investor conference. "And then the third leg of that stool is fuel. So you’ve got fuel, capacity and demand all going the wrong direction."

American Airlines also trimmed its earnings guidance, with quarterly income of no more than 30 cents per share, 68% below the high-end target it issued in July. American cited the jump in fuel prices and the cost of its new pilot contract as factors contributing to the decline.

Jet fuel prices have risen about 30% since early July. Airlines from Southwest to JetBlue to Spirit and Frontier all have been eager to boost flying this year, and into next, to recover capacity lost from the pandemic and as a means to lower their unit costs. (More seats provide a larger base across which an airline spreads non-fuel costs.)

Posted by Besoeker 2023-09-18 02:50|| E-Mail|| Front Page|| [11159 views ] Top

#1 Looks like it's time for the airline pilots to go on strike.

[sarc off]

Posted by Besoeker 2023-09-18 02:55|| 2023-09-18 02:55|| Front Page Top

#2 Ultra-low-cost airlines Spirit and Frontier are predicting losses for the third quarter.

Vimes Boots Theory?

Posted by Grom the Reflective 2023-09-18 03:10|| 2023-09-18 03:10|| Front Page Top

#3 The new Greyhounds Buses of the Sky, were a lot better when flying was not like a Bus mass transit system with wings and the nut jobs were far and in between.

Posted by NN2N1 2023-09-18 06:34|| 2023-09-18 06:34|| Front Page Top

#4 When it's herding into tiny seats with no legroom and stuck on the tarmac for an hour after departing from the gate (for time penalty reasons) - I'll pass

Posted by Frank G 2023-09-18 07:16|| 2023-09-18 07:16|| Front Page Top

#5 Gee, I would have thought less cash in peoples' pockets might have been a factor.

Posted by Bobby 2023-09-18 08:21|| 2023-09-18 08:21|| Front Page Top

#6 I'll just drive on highways on the ground as Gaia intended. Thank you.

Posted by AlmostAnonymous5839 2023-09-18 10:25|| 2023-09-18 10:25|| Front Page Top

#7 Air travel has become an ordeal and I stopped travelling before Covid and have no plans to do so again until I'm horizontal, in a box, and headed to Arlington in the cargo hold.

Posted by NoMoreBS 2023-09-18 11:41|| 2023-09-18 11:41|| Front Page Top

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