Airline Earnings Continue To Show Improvement

Four U.S. airlines today reported third-quarter earnings and the results generally were positive, especially compared with last year. America West Holdings, parent of America West Airlines, posted a net profit of $32.9 million and improved year-over-year passenger revenue, unit revenue, traffic and load factor. It also lowered unit costs by another 2 percent to 7.57 cents. It plans to increase capacity next year by as much as 10 percent.

Alaska Airlines also improved unit revenues while decreasing costs. Its parent, Alaska Air Group, posted a net income of $40.7 million. "We're encouraged by these numbers, but have considerable work to do to return to profitability on a full-year basis," said chairman and CEO Bill Ayer.

America West and Alaska join Continental, Northwest and Southwest airlines as major carriers profitable during the third quarter.

Meanwhile, low-cost carrier ATA Airlines' parent ATA Holdings squeaked out a $6.6 million net profit as it lowered unit costs by nearly 18 percent to 6.9 cents.

On the other side of the profitability coin, US Airways narrowed significantly its third-quarter loss versus last year, but still finished $90 million in the red. "While we continue to make significant progress in an industry that is showing some signs of recovery, we simply cannot be satisfied with losing less money than before when the goal is to be profitable and successful," said CEO and president David Siegel. "The rapid growth of low-cost competitors coupled with dramatic and fundamental changes in corporate travel practices present even greater challenges going forward."

There were some positive indicators at US Airways, including a 7.8 percent improvement in mainline unit revenues and a five-point jump in systemwide load factor. The company, meanwhile, today listed its common stock on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the ticker symbol UAIR.

American Airlines parent AMR Corp. and United Airlines parent UAL Corp. have not yet reported third-quarter numbers. Analysts expect losses for both.