Tale of 2 airlines: Big profit at American, Southwest loss
FORT WORTH, Texas — (AP) — American Airlines gave more proof Thursday of the recovery in air travel, posting a better-than-expected profit for the fourth quarter, while Southwest Airlines lost money because of massive flight cancellations last month. Southwest said it also expects another loss in the first quarter while saying it was encouraged by booking trends for March. Southwest reported a $220 million loss after taking a hit of $800 million from canceling nearly 17,000 flights over the last 10 days of December. American reported a profit of $803 million. American's results added to the picture of strong demand for air travel that was reflected in an $843 million profit for United Airlines and $828 million for Delta Air Lines.
wftv.comUnited Airlines posts $843 million profit, bullish on 2023
United Airlines reported fourth-quarter profit and revenue higher than Wall Street expectations and gave a bullish 2023 forecast that assumes people will keep traveling despite inflation and concern about the economy. After the market closed Tuesday, United said it earned $843 million in the quarter. The report from United comes on the heels of upbeat comments by its closest rivals, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines. That beat Wall Street’s mean forecast of $2.11 per share in adjusted profit, according to a survey by FactSet. United said it will earn $10 to $12 per share for all of 2023, which would handily beat Wall Street’s expectation of $6.84.
wftv.comDelta and American Airlines under investigation after two planes nearly collided on runway
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a near-miss between two commercial passenger planes at JFK airport. A Delta 737 and an American 777 came within 1,000 feet of colliding on the runway. Kris Van Cleave reports.
news.yahoo.comAgencies investigate averted plane crash at New York airport
NEW YORK — (AP) — Officials are investigating a close call at a New York airport Friday night between a plane that was crossing a runway and another that was preparing for takeoff. an air controller said in an audio recording of Air Traffic Control communications when he noticed the other plane, operated by American Airlines, crossing in front. Brian Heale, a passenger on the Delta flight, said at first he thought the abrupt stop was a mechanical issue. The Delta plane stopped about 1,000 feet (about 0.3 kilometers) from where the American Airlines plane had crossed from an adjacent taxiway, according to the FAA statement. The plane returned to the gate, where the 145 passengers deplaned and were provided overnight accommodations, a Delta spokesperson said.
wftv.comHoliday payoff: Delta posts $828M fourth quarter profit
Delta Air Lines said Friday that it earned $828 million in the fourth quarter and that consumers are still snapping up flights and making other purchases with their airline-branded credit cards. Airlines say that a shortage of pilots, especially at regional feeder airlines, has curtailed their ability to operate more flights. Delta's fourth-quarter profit compared with $1.1 billion in the same quarter of 2019, the last one before the pandemic devastated the U.S. airline business. Excluding some items, Delta said its adjusted profit worked out to $1.48 per share, 16 cents better than Wall Street predicted, according to a FactSet survey of analysts. Delta predicted that first-quarter earnings will be 15 to 40 cents per share, below the 59 cents forecast by analysts in the FactSet survey.
wftv.comAmerican Airlines boosts outlook after busy holiday season
DALLAS — (AP) — American Airlines raised its forecast of fourth-quarter revenue and profit Thursday, boosted by higher fares and full planes capped off with a busy holiday travel period. American earned $1.12 to $1.17 per share in the fourth quarter, nearly double its previous forecast. Revenue was 16% to 17% above the same quarter in 2019, before the pandemic. A severe winter storm affected all U.S. airlines before Christmas, but American and most others were able to recover quickly; Southwest was not. American said revenue from each seat per mile rose 24% over the fourth quarter of 2021, an even sharper rise than it had previously forecast.
wftv.comReport: FAA system failure could ground flights across the US
>> Read more trending newsThe affected system, called the Notice to Air Missions or NOTAM, sends flight hazards and real-time flight or airport restrictions to pilots. The FAA is working to restore its Notice to Air Missions System. — The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) January 11, 2023“THE FAA is experiencing an outage that is impacting the update of NOTAMS. In an advisory, the FAA said its NOTAM system had “failed,” and there was no estimate for when it would be back up. American Airlines told ABC that the failure has only meant delays for their flights for the moment.
wftv.comAlabama airline ground crew worker who died was reportedly pulled into plane’s engine, NTSB says
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An airline ground crew worker at the Montgomery Regional Airport on Saturday was killed after reportedly getting pulled into the plane’s engine, officials say. >> Read more trending newsThe National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement which was obtained by The Associated Press, that an airline ground crew worker who was killed over the week was reportedly pulled into the engine of a plane. The flight was set to depart from the Montgomery Regional Airport to Dallas-Fort Worth prior to the incident. According to CNN, NTSB is expecting to release a preliminary report on the incident in two to three weeks. The Federal Aviation Administration and NTSB will continue to investigate the incident, according to CNN.
wftv.comGround crew worker killed in accident at Alabama airport
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — (AP) — A member of an airline ground crew working at an Alabama airport died Saturday afternoon in an accident at the facility. The American Airlines/Piedmont Airlines employee died in an “industrial accident” around 3 p.m., Montgomery Regional Airport said in a statement. “We are saddened to hear about the tragic loss of a team member of the AA/Piedmont Airlines," airport Executive Director Wade Davis said in the statement. American Airlines did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking additional information. Copyright 2023 The Associated Press.
wftv.comAmerican Airlines ground crew employee reportedly killed on ramp at airport in Alabama
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An American Airlines ground crew employee was reportedly killed on a ramp at the Montgomery Regional Airport in Alabama Saturday. >> Read more trending newsThe Montgomery Regional Airport released a statement on Twitter Saturday evening, confirming that at around 3 p.m., a ground crew piedmont employee with American Airlines was involved in a deadly incident. The incident happened on the ramp where an American Airlines regional carrier flight was parked, the Federal Aviation Administration said, according to Reuters. Today around 3 pm an American Airlines ground crew piedmont employee was involved in a fatality, no additional information is available at this time. — Montgomery Regional Airport (@flymgm) January 1, 2023©2022 Cox Media Group
wftv.comSouthwest system meltdown that stranded passengers won’t be the last, industry expert says
ORLANDO, Fla. — By midday Tuesday, airlines had canceled around 2,900 flights nationwide, and more than 2,500 of those cancellations came from Southwest Airlines. Industry experts are expecting more mass cancellations in Southwest’s future, and are putting the blame on the airline’s outdate scheduling system. Southwest’s union said its system has effectively lost track of where planes, pilots and flight attendants are. “This is a very, very complex problem, and you have to start from, really, flight by flight.”He said because of this, he expects this won’t be the last system meltdown for Southwest. In a statement, the U.S. Department of Transportation said in part:“The rate of cancellations and delays on Southwest Airlines is unacceptable and dramatically higher than other U.S. carriers.
wftv.comAmerican, JetBlue expand deal that US is trying to kill
FORT WORTH, Texas — (AP) — American Airlines and JetBlue Airways are pushing ahead with an expansion of their partnership in the Northeast, even as a federal judge considers the government's attempt to kill the deal. The airlines said Friday that American will add six new routes from New York City while dropping one. American said it plans to drop service between New York’s LaGuardia Airport and Atlanta in May, when JetBlue adds that route. The airlines' plans hinge, however, on winning a lawsuit in Boston. American and JetBlue argued that their combination will help consumers by making them a stronger competitor in the Northeast against Delta and United Airlines.
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