US airlines are raking in profits from the
combination of uninterrupted private wanderlust, high ticket prices
and sinking fuel prices, according to company reports released
Wednesday.
Delta Air Lines, US Airways and JetBlue, in which Lufthansa has
interest, reported robust increases in revenues in the second quarter
compared to the same period in 2011. And earnings climbed for US
Airways and JetBlue.
US Airways chief Doug Parker said the results spoke for
themselves. The company tripled its earnings to 306 million dollars.
Sales increased by 7.21 per cent to 3.75 billion dollars.
JetBlue doubled its earnings, to 52 million dollars, while
revenues climbed 11 per cent.
Only Delta Air Lines reported a net loss of 168 million dollars,
compared to a profit of 198 million dollars in the same period of
2011. But its revenues were also up 6 per cent, to 9.7 billion
dollars.
Part of the losses were due to a miscalculation about fuel prices
when Delta hedged fuel contracts and locked in costs in advance,
according to Bloomberg news agency.
In recent years, US airlines were hit by the double whammy of
recession and soaring fuel costs, which forced them to trim down
costs, consider mergers and invest in more energy efficient aircraft.
American Airlines, the largest US carrier, is in the middle of
bankruptcy proceedings and is in merger talks with US Airways.
In recent years, there were mergers between Delta and Northwest
and between United and Continental. The resulting two leaner airlines
are now the two leading international carriers. Their investments in
new more efficient aircraft sent money flowing to both Boeing and
Airbus.
