Airline Weekly Lounge

Brett Snyder, better known as The Cranky Flier, emphatically says passengers need to wear masks or facial coverings onboard aircraft. It’s not a question, Snyder says in this episode of Mondays With Skift Airline Weekly. Airlines dug themselves into a public-relations hole by promising social distancing by blocking middle seats — which doesn’t provide the necessary six-feet of separation and is financially unsustainable. So given that flights will be filling up again, passengers need to wear masks. Dive deeper into industry news with the latest issue of Skift Airline Weekly.

Ty Osbaugh, architecture firm Gensler’s aviation lead and principal, joins Skift Airline Weekly Editor Madhu Unnikrishnan for a discussion on how airports need to change to handle a public-health emergency. Everything from check-in to terminal design needs to be rethought to adapt to travel’s new reality. Dive deeper with the latest issue of Skift Airline Weekly.

The airline industry is ravaged now, but could this create an opportunity for new airlines to emerge? Skift Airline Weekly Editor Madhu Unnikrishnan and Seth Kaplan, Airline Weekly co-founder and current host of the Airlines Confidential podcast discuss the possibility. Dive deeper with the latest issue of Skift Airline Weekly.

This week Skift Airline Weekly editor Madhu Unnikrishnan was joined by Skift Aviation Business Editor Brian Sumers to discuss first quarter earnings -- and why they are likely the best numbers airlines will see for all of 2020. Dive deeper with the latest issue of Skift Airline Weekly.

This week the Skift Airline Weekly team discussed Virgin Australia’s potential demise as well as how other airlines are weathering the coronavirus fallout. Dive deeper with the latest issue of Skift Airline Weekly.

The coronavirus pandemic is bringing the world's airlines to their knees. The Trump administration's decision on Wednesday to suspend travel between the U.S. and the European Union's Schengen area is unprecedented. But how is this shock different from the aftereffects of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks? On the one hand, the 9/11 attacks changed airports and airlines in noticeable ways, such as new security protocols and armored cockpit doors. On the other hand, the viral pandemic's effects are more widespread and universal for the world's airlines than the fallout from the 9/11 attacks.

Can all-business class airlines work? La Compagnie President Christian Vernet thinks so. But while others have failed — remember MAXJet? — Vernet said his airline's product sets it apart, and the A321 is the ideal aircraft for both the route and the on-board product. And as for the other 10 airlines that operate the Paris-New York route, including behemoths like Air France and Delta? Vernet said business class passengers on La Compagnie appreciate not waiting while "300 other passengers [are] going through the aisle … finding the economy section of the aircraft." In addition to its year-round Paris flights, the airline again this summer is planning to operate Newark-Nice flights.

Qatar Airways took a page from Etihad's book and invested in a European carrier. This elicited howls from the major U.S. airlines. They claimed this move was nothing more than a Trojan Horse strategy for Qatar to operate fifth-freedom flights to the U.S. from Europe (but not quite, since Air Italy was a European carrier). Air Italy never fulfilled its promise — or threat, depending on where you stood on the issue — and the airline is now shutting down Feb. 25. Skift Europe Editor Patrick Whyte tells us why.

A federal court is wading into the arcana of airline distribution. It's assessing whether there are antitrust issues with travel tech company Sabre's proposed acquisition of Farelogix. But what exactly is the deal? And why does the government have concerns? Skift Senior Travel Tech Editor Sean O'Neill takes us through an explainer on what Sabre and Farelogix do, why the government cares, and why you probably shouldn't sue your next employer.

French Bee President Marc Rochet is confident the airline's upcoming Newark-Orly flights will be successful, because the key to the airline's wins so far is its simplicity, he said. But will it work? Rochet said simplicity — in fleet, in network, in product — is key to why the airline is working when so many other European leisure carriers have failed.

Just what is going on in California? JetBlue is drawing down at Long Beach and dropping Oakland altogether, while United is adding flights to small California cities. Can any airline make a go of the Los Angeles Basin's secondary airports? What about the San Francisco Bay Area's secondary airports? Why is Spirit launching one of its longest flights to Oakland? Join Skift's resident Californians, Madhu Unnikrishnan and Brian Sumers, as they discuss airlines in the Golden State (and elsewhere too).

Airline Weekly talks this week to Skift Europe Editor Patrick Whyte on the news of International Airlines Group CEO Willie Walsh's retirement announcement. Walsh has been a powerhouse in the airline industry, helping transform British Airways into a pan-European behemoth. London-based Whyte walks us through the reaction in the United Kingdom. He also takes a look at what Flybe's financial problems might mean for the domestic UK market.

A single year can result in dramatic change within the airline industry, so an entire decade could see it completely transformed. After 10 years of strong profits and relatively stable oil prices in the 2010s, what does the decade ahead hold in store for the U.S. airline industry? Editor Madhu Unnikrishnan and co-founder and Senior Analyst Jay Shabat game out what might happen in the next 5–10 years — and whether Boeing ever will build the NMA.

It's that time of year again. Airline Weekly Editor Madhu Unnikrishnan and Senior Analyst Jay Shabat look back on the year that was. It was yet another tumultuous year in this industry we love: Storied names like Thomas Cook, among others, went out of business, and the B737 MAX — one of the world's best-selling aircraft — was grounded. Can anyone make low-cost, longhaul flights work? Will Boeing ever build the new midsize airplane (NMA)? Listen to our final podcast of the year to find out.

Skeptics might say the airport of the future has always been just around the corner, but maybe the "smart airport" really is a thing. Skift Travel Tech Editor Sean O'Neill tells Airline Weekly Editor Madhu Unnikrishnan about how advances in technology are improving the passenger experience, baggage tracking, and security. Hear what some of the world's more innovative airports are doing to implement new technologies into every part of their operations in this week's episode of the Lounge.

It's not other airlines. It's the bus. That's where Mexican ultra-low-cost carrier Volaris sees the most opportunity to grow: by poaching passengers from the country's long-distance bus network. In this episode of the Airline Weekly Lounge, Editor Madhu Unnikrishnan talks to Skift Travel Editor-in-Chief Tom Lowry about Volaris' growth strategy, how it allows passengers to pay for tickets, and why its employees are sometimes escorted out of bus stations by security.

Will there be a deal or won't there? The Indian government now says it wants to sell 100% of the state-owned carrier, but who will buy it? The airline is notoriously saddled with debt and has a restive labor force. Airline Weekly Senior Analyst Jay Shabat acknowledges Air India's problems but notes that the beleaguered carrier actually has some strengths and assets that a would-be buyer could find attractive. Will any company step forward to buy the Flying Maharajah? Listen to this week's episode to find out.

Skift Europe Editor Patrick Whyte joined Skift Airline Weekly Editor Madhu Unnikrishnan to share his insights on the latest in European airline news. First, of course, Whyte takes a look at why Air Europa's parent company Globalia would want to sell one of its largest business units to IAG. Is there a future for vertically integrated travel companies, especially after behemoth Thomas Cook went bankrupt? Whyte points out, however, that parts of the bankrupt Thomas Cook's empire have lived to see another day, including Condor and the company's Nordic operations. Even the travel agencies have a new lease on life. Whyte also discussed Air France/KLM's plans for the future. Listen to the full podcast here, on iTunes, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.

International Airlines Group (IAG) had a surprise for the airline industry this week: It stated its intention to buy Spanish carrier Air Europa. This wasn't a surprise to Skift Airline Weekly, however, which earlier this year reported on the rumors afloat about the acquisition. What's in it for IAG? Skift Airline Weekly Senior Analyst Jay Shabat walked us through the rationale for the acquisition, the regulatory issues that may lie ahead, and just why Madrid may not be the next European megahub. Shabat also explained why IAG, which already owns Iberia, Iberia Express, Vueling, and Level, is getting its fifth Spanish airline. Listen to the full episode.

Skift Airline Weekly Editor Madhu Unnikrishnan caught up with Anders Lindström, Norwegian's director of communications for the U.S., at San Francisco International Airport on Monday when the carrier launched San Francisco-Barcelona flights. Lindström explained why Norwegian is moving some flights from Oakland to SFO, and what routes in the U.S. are doing well for the carrier. He also talked through the third-quarter results and why he thinks the carrier has turned the corner from its tough year.

The UK government this week engages in another set of inquiries on why Thomas Cook went bankrupt, which is the perfect time to ask Skift Europe Editor Patrick Whyte, who has been covering the story, what happened. How did the "booking clerk to the empire" go belly-up after more than 150 years? Whyte explains that the company was struggling under a massive debt load and had struggled with maintaining a large number of travel agencies as booking habits changed. But Whyte noted that parts of the business remain — Condor, in Germany, and the subsidiary in the Nordic countries. European and UK holidaymakers may see fares rise in the short term as airlines backfill the capacity hole left by Thomas Cook's bankruptcy, but Whyte believed the capacity shortfall would be filled by next summer.

Back in the aughts, Airlines for America's Chief Economist John Heimlich often showed a slide with an alarming statistic: Coffee giant Starbucks' market capitalization was more than that of the entire U.S. airline industry combined. So much has changed in the last 10 years, as the airline industry recovered from the 9/11 terrorist attacks, SARS, and oil prices of $148 per barrel, among other trials and tribulations. Skift Airline Weekly Editor Madhu Unnikrishnan and Heimlich had a chance to catch up at the Boyd Group's International Aviation Forecast Summit in August. Unnikrishnan reminded Heimlich of that slide and asked him if those turbulent times could return. Heimlich explained how the industry has changed: different management, improved aircraft technology, and consolidation being among the most important factors. But he warned that the airline industry is uniquely exposed to exogenous shocks, like geopolitical turmoil, weather, and the price of oil. The airline industry is continuing to evolve, with new aircraft technology, like the Airbus A321 XLR, making low-cost, long-haul a better business proposition, Heimlich said. But will anyone crack that low-cost, long-haul code? And what about small-community air service in the U.S. and Canada, now that airlines have retired or are in the process of retiring their smallest aircraft?

In this episode of the Skift Airline Weekly Lounge podcast, Skift Travel Senior Aviation Business Editor Brian Sumers and I discuss the interviews we did on stage at Skift Global Forum in New York City, Sept. 18–19. Air France/KLM CEO Ben Smith told us how he's trying to rationalize and simplify Air France's network (while leaving KLM largely alone). American Airlines Chief Financial Officer Derek Kerr promised the carrier would recover from a difficult summer. And Delta CEO Ed Bastian spoke about transforming the airline into a trusted global brand. Sumers and I chew on our conversations at Skift Global Forum and wonder just why Smith's favorite aircraft is the B747. —Madhu Unnikrishnan, editor, Skift Airline Weekly

Andrew Watterson, Southwest's chief revenue officer, had a few minutes to talk to Skift Airline Weekly Editor Madhu Unnikrishnan and Skift Travel Senior Aviation Business Editor Brian Sumers at the Boyd Group's International Aviation Forecast Summit in Las Vegas last month. Watterson still is bullish on Hawaii and says Southwest will expand its service to the state from California. He explained why Southwest pulled out of Mexico City and how its international network is optimized to take U.S. residents to Mexican and Caribbean leisure destinations. Watterson also explained that Southwest is seen as a leisure carrier in the Eastern half of the country and a business carrier in the West.

Rosemary Vassiliadis, director of aviation for Clark County, Nevada, leads operations at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport and oversees four other airports in southern Nevada. Vassiliadis thinks airlines are flat wrong in their opposition to raising the passenger facility charge, or PFC. Airports have long argued for raising this fee to a maximum of $8.50 per passenger, up from $4.50 today, but airlines say doing so would crimp demand for travel. This isn't true, Vassiliadis argued in this interview, pointing to the many — and higher — ancillary fees that airlines already levy that haven't dampened demand. Airports are pushing for the increase, ultimately, in order to better serve the passenger, she noted. Vassiliadis also told Skift Airline Weekly about McCarran's new air service and plans for a new airport on the California-Nevada border.

Hawaiian Airlines CEO Peter Ingram isn't too worried about increasing competition from U.S. and Japanese carriers on routes to Hawaii. During an an interview with Skift Airline Weekly Editor Madhu Unnikrishnan in Las Vegas on Aug. 26, Ingram said Hawaiian has been competing fiercely on those routes for 90 years, so this is nothing new, Ingram said. What is new, at least since Aloha and Go went bankrupt, is competition on inter-island routes. Southwest recently began flying limited routes between the Hawaiian islands, but Hawaiian's deep routes in the community, its long history serving what Ingram calls "the neighbor islands," and the frequency of its routes will stand it in good stead. Ingram also admitted that he may be among the 717's last defenders, and argues that the airframe's engineering is perfectly suited to Hawaiian's needs. To hear more, listen to this week's episode of the Skift Airline Weekly Lounge.

AirBaltic was an early adopter of the Airbus A220, back when it was the Bombardier CSeries. The aircraft is perfectly designed for the Baltic carrier's missions, and CEO Martin Gauss is enthusiastic about the model. He took a few minutes to talk to Skift Airline Weekly editor Madhu Unnikrishnan and Skift Senior Aviation Business Editor Brian Sumers at the IATA Annual General Meeting in Seoul in June. Gauss said for now AirBaltic's focus is on its region of Latvia and neighboring countries, and the airline has no plans to establish bases in Western Europe. Gauss, however, pointed to the example of Finnair, which, like AirBaltic, has a small home population but outsize international traffic. This is the kind of operation he thinks AirBaltic can grow into. Listen for the full interview with AirBaltic CEO Martin Gauss:

Just before stepping down as CEO of British regional carrier Flybe, Christine Ourmieres-Widener took a minute to talk to Skift Airline Weekly at the IATA Annual General Meeting in Seoul. Ourmieres-Widener’s two years at the helm of Flybe were tumultuous, she acknowledged, and culminated with the carrier’s acquisition by Virgin Atlantic. But she noted that she focused on saving the airline and getting it back on its feet, even if that meant selling it. And she pointed out that her first priority was saving jobs, and of that Ourmieres-Widener said she’s very proud. With Ourmieres-Widener’s departure, the already small circle of women airline CEOs gets even smaller. She said the industry has to do better to attract and mentor young women as they rise through the ranks. She also said efforts have to begin earlier — at school, to encourage girls to study STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects. Listen for the full interview with Skift Airline Weekly Editor Madhu Unnikrishnan

Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong said he envies American Airlines CEO Doug Parker for the scale and potential for profitability that U.S. carriers have from a large domestic market. Parker, the chief of the U.S.’s largest carrier, once famously said the era of airlines reporting losses is over. In its most recent quarter, Singapore Airlines reported profit margins lower than analysts expected and lower than the company had previously reported. Much of this is explained by the region in which Singapore operates. Unlike Parker, Goh said his company has no domestic market to provide a valuable feed of passengers to its long-haul routes. Speaking at the inaugural Skift Forum Asia in Singapore in May, Goh said he is confident that the company is headed in the right direction. The group is taking steps to keep so-called CASK (costs per airline seat kilometer) down by, among other measures, hedging against fuel price volatility and managing fleet leases. Listen for the full interview with Skift Airline Weekly Editor Madhu Unnikrishnan.

United Airlines President Scott Kirby issued a warning to potential new-entrant low-cost-carriers, including JetBlue founder David Neeleman’s Moxie: United will match your fares. Kirby, speaking on stage at Skift Forum Asia in Singapore in June, said he’s heard of about 50 airlines over the years that were supposed to be created but Virgin America, founded in 2004, was the last startup airline in the United States that actually became a reality. The low-cost airline model is predicated on the competition not matching prices, Kirby said, and unlike the situation over the last 30 years, United now has the capabilities with segmentation, including basic economy, to go tit-for-tat with the new entrants. Listen for the full interview with Skift Editor-in-Chief Tom Lowry.

The latest edition of the Skift Airline Weekly Lounge contains an exclusive interview with Aireen Omar, AirAsia’s deputy CEO. There was no backtracking from AirAsia in its plan to branch out into selling other airlines on its platform, financial services, and more experiences. Asked at Skift Forum Asia in Singapore in May 2019 if becoming the Amazon of travel is overly ambitious, Aireen Omar, AirAsia’s deputy CEO, said it’s “ambitious, but I think it’s very doable.” Another AirAsia executive recently made the declaration that the airline could become the “Amazon of travel.” In this discussion, interviewer and Skift Airline Weekly Editor Madhu Unnikrishnan gets to the core of the boast.

The Skift Airline Weekly Lounge returns with an exclusive interview with British Airways CEO Alex Cruz. Since taking over as CEO and chairman of British Airways in 2016, Cruz has endured his fair share of criticism over some of the changes he made to the airline, particularly with regards to food on short-haul flights. But Cruz, speaking at Skift Forum Europe in London on April 30, 2019, said the changes were necessary in turning the carrier into a more customer-focused airline as well as one that is much more financially stable. “When we started this new phase of British Airways, there were many decisions to be taken with regards to the direction of the company, and some of those decisions that were made early on were indeed probably less welcome than others,” Cruz said.

With a new year underway, we’re thinking about what will happen in 2019—always a dicey proposition. In this episode, we consider the prospects of airlines around the world. Some, like Aeroflot and Turkish Airlines, are facing huge opportunities. Others, like Jet Airways and South African Airlines, are facing grave challenges. Will the International Airlines Group make another offer for Norwegian? Will Alitalia find a partner? Will Lion Air cancel plane orders? Will Emirates and Etihad merge? In short, what will 2019 bring? In this episode, we reluctantly offer some predictions.

After pummeling each other for years, Icelandair and Wow Air agreed to a truce in the form of a merger. But the merger fell through. Now Wow Air may be finding comfort with serial airline investor Indigo Partners. What will that mean for both airlines? Aeroflot apparently finds comfort in being big. In fact, the Russian airline is looking to nearly double its fleet size in just five years. Meanwhile, Mexico’s airline industry nervously watches as it appears more and more likely that Mexico City’s one-third-built airport won’t be seen to fruition. What did Aegean do this summer? For one thing, it posted a Ryanair-like profit margin. Lastly, U.S. airlines are getting bullish about the fourth quarter.

More and more people are traveling by air in Mexico, but Mexico’s airlines continue to struggle. All four of its main carriers had a disappointing 3rd quarter, which is historically peak season. VivaAerobus at least made a little money. Aeroméxico and Volaris barely broke even. And, Interjet’s numbers were simply alarming. Fortunately, oil prices have dropped so much that the outlook for airlines everywhere has changed. In the U.K., easyJet posted earnings that were strong but not nearly as good as LCC rivals Ryanair and Wizz Air. Is that a problem? LATAM is navigating economic headwinds well. AirAsia X seems to be proving that “low-cost longhaul” remains a difficult business model. Lastly, Flybe’s ongoing struggles raise this question for some: Is an acquisition in order?

Of Europe’s “Big Three” airline groups, International Airlines Group (IAG) continues to significantly outperform the other two, namely Air France/KLM and Lufthansa Group. A big part of IAG’s success is simply British Airways’ coveted slot portfolio at Heathrow. But it didn’t hurt that pretty much everything else is working too. Still, Lufthansa navigated a difficult quarter operationally to deliver a respectable 14% operating profit margin. Air France/KLM, meanwhile, rode the seasonal strengths of its Transavia unit to a profit margin that outpaced Lufthansa’s by a fraction of a percent. Ryanair saw its Q3 profit margin drop by 7 points. But no matter—it still did better than every other European carrier reporting so far. Icelandair bought competitor WOW Air. Lastly, with Turkish Airlines looking fully mended, will it return to its fast-growth ways?

American Airlines truly set itself apart from its peers in the third quarter—and not in a good way. AA posted a dismal 7.5% operating profit margin, nearly half of Delta’s 13.9% margin. But, with good reason, management remains optimistic. United, on the other hand, has plenty to smile about right now as it offset 100% of its rising fuel costs with rising revenues. Southwest didn’t have trouble with fuel thanks to hedges, but non-fuel costs posed a headwind. Hawaiian Airlines posted the best Q3 margin of the major U.S. carriers. But Spirit might be the biggest winner of all, vaulting itself from the middle of the pack last year to nearly the front. JetBlue and Allegiant again stumbled. And although Alaska didn’t have a great result, there are plenty of reasons it should soon rejoin the leading carriers in the U.S.

Delta is doing a remarkable job keeping pace with rapidly rising costs. Sure, the airline’s third-quarter fuel bill rose 35% year over year. But rising revenues offset enough of those costs that Delta’s operating profit margin fell only two points. Meanwhile, what’s behind American’s recent troubles? Unfortunately, when American reports later in the month, it’s expected to be a much less happy affair. Alitalia looks like it will be restructured. Is this new direction the right direction? Canada’s WestJet announced its first Dreamliner routes, which were a little surprising—at least until you look at Air Canada’s network. Lastly, Russia’s Pobeda is proving to be an atypical success.

Sun Country is largely missing out on the golden age that U.S. carriers have been basking in since 2015. In the past 12 months (ending with the second quarter, the most recent to be reported) all the U.S. carriers posted operating profit margins ranging from a healthy 9% to an excellent 16%—except for Sun Country, which delivered a distant 4% margin. Will Sun shine again? One airline enjoying the U.S. party is Frontier, which had a solid second quarter despite a 19% increase in operating costs. Talks of an Emirates-Etihad merger have heated up, according to a Bloomberg report. A merger might save Etihad, but who will save these other troubled airlines? South African Airways, Fastjet and Jet Airways are all facing dire straits. Lastly, JetBlue is adding a basic economy fare class. Will it be the last U.S. airline to do so?

Qantas continues to romp. In the first half of 2018, the flying kangaroo posted a 9% profit margin—one point better than in the same period last year. And with that, Qantas is working on its fourth consecutive calendar year with double-digit margins. Despite more exposure to rising fuel prices, Air New Zealand still mostly kept pace. Virgin Australia, meanwhile, continues to miss out on Australasia’s booming airline sector. Scandinavia’s SAS appears to be having a great summer, which of course it will need if it’s going to have merely a good year. In India, Jet Airways is facing severe pressure. Qatar Airways is enduring a blockade that’s now more than a year old. Lastly, we explore this question: Have airline loyalty programs peaked?

Revenues and margins improved for Cathay Pacific in the first half of 2018, and the second half is usually better for Cathay. Still, will it be enough to lift the Hong Kong carrier out of its malaise? Fuel costs dented Singapore Airlines’ Q2 results, which were similarly mediocre to Cathay’s. VietJet’s soaring growth is helping it control unit costs and deliver solid profits. Also delivering solid profits was Cebu Pacific, however, those profits came amid a huge margin decline. Turkish Airlines is now existing amid a currency crisis, but it’s weathering it surprisingly well. Ethiopian Airlines is making money and has plans to make more. Icelandair is feeling the chill of too much capacity in Reykjavik. And JetBlue is charting new territory in charging for bags.

Thanks to rising costs, it’s no surprise profits have declined at Air Canada and WestJet. But rising costs alone don’t explain how these Canadian carriers continue to consistently underperform their U.S. peers by a noticeable margin. Meanwhile in Europe, carriers like Ryanair, Aer Lingus, British Airways, Lufthansa, Swiss and others are putting up numbers very much like their U.S. counterparts. Unfortunately, Air France is not one of those carriers, as that airline nearly lost money in the usually healthy second quarter, and that reduced the Air France/KLM group result to a scant 5% operating profit margin. Meanwhile, the Lufthansa group is making great strides, posting an 11% second-quarter margin, which is quite comparable to IAG’s 13.5%.

So far all U.S. carriers have reported shrinking year-over-year profits in the second quarter. But nobody’s margin decline was worse than that of JetBlue, which posted a 9% operating margin, down from 19% the year before. Allegiant had the best margin of the bunch, narrowly besting Southwest and Delta, both of which had shining quarters. American’s quarter was marred by its mishandling of basic economy, plus it wasn’t helped by its domestic-heavy network. Alaska has been lacking the right product to take advantage of booming premium demand in the transcon market. Spirit, while still quite profitable, is learning to live in a world where big carriers now pay attention to it. Hawaiian couldn’t have been happy with its nine-point margin decline. Speaking of happy—that might describe United, which showed surprising resilience in Q2.

Rising costs aren’t keeping Delta down. Delta overcame a 33% year-over-year increase in fuel costs to produce more than $1.2b in net profits (excluding special items) and a handsome 16% quarterly operating margin. In fact, despite the increased costs, Delta almost matched last year’s 18% Q2 margin. And the airline thinks it can return to improving margins by year’s end. Meanwhile, it’s hard to imagine Norwegian’s results being more different. Norwegian chalked up a negative 3% operating profit margin, a ghastly result for the usually strong second quarter. JetBlue ordered CS300s—except now we’re calling them A220-300s. That deal surely made Airbus and its new partner Bombardier happy. In turn, Boeing is partnering with Embraer. What does this shakeup to the aircraft manufacturer space mean?

Frontier Airlines has had one of the most topsy-turvy histories of any airline, and its first-quarter earnings report was no exception. Sporting a wild animal on each tail, the airline has been soaring in recent years. In 2017, Frontier had the seventh best operating profit margin in the world. But something happened in Q1 2018, as its margin was cut in half. Meanwhile, Air France/KLM searches for a CEO. Also, how important is it that United Airlines—by a wide margin—gets more revenue from Asia than Delta and American? Norwegian continues to lose money and remains, for the moment, without a buyer to bail it out. But at least Norwegian isn’t Fastjet, which notched a negative 55% operating profit margin in 2017.

Things haven’t gotten better in Mexico. Although Aeroméxico is at least coping better than its domestic competitors, all of which posted negative first-quarter margins in the double-digits. To make matters worse, construction of Mexico City’s much-needed new airport might be suspended as soon as July. North of the border, Delta and Southwest are seeing more cost pressures in the second quarter. Lastly, America is getting a new airline called Moxy. Adding to the excitement is that the man behind the project, David Neeleman, is known for inventive business models such as JetBlue and Brazil’s Azul. Sure enough, from what we know, Moxy appears to have some unique qualities.

Despite a 29% year-over-year increase to its labor costs, Ryanair still posted a positive profit margin in the first quarter. Ryan’s eastern European counterpart, Wizz Air, meanwhile faced an even more daunting 43% rise in labor costs and handled it with equal aplomb. Scandinavian Airlines is plodding along, but so are a lot of other legacy carriers in Europe. For the moment, that’s okay. Doing much less than okay is El Al, an airline suffering a big loss in its first quarter despite Tel Aviv enjoying terrific growth in tourism. In the U.S., Delta and United say they don’t fear high oil prices or low-cost longhaul carriers. Should they? Lastly, airBaltic looks for a suitor, and Aeroflot takes a step backward.

For the moment, WestJet is the more profitable carrier. But in recent years, Air Canada has closed the gap and, in the first quarter of 2018, we see signs that Air Canada—after years of giving chase—might overtake its long-dominant rival. Emirates appears to be emerging from its malaise, but can it return to its former glory? AirFrance/KLM continues to struggle with its unions. Lufthansa had its best first quarter in a decade. And IAG, the airline group that includes British Airways, Iberia, Vueling, Aer Lingus and Level, continues to dazzle. However, IAG’s brilliance hasn’t proven alluring enough to capture more than 5% of Norwegian.

Revenues for U.S. carriers remained terrifically healthy in the first quarter, and everybody made money. But rising labor and fuel costs generally shrunk year-over-year profit margins. United, which continues to trail Delta and American in profitability, did a pretty good job of preserving its margin. Profits slid a bit more at American, but it was especially buoyant in Latin America, where AA is the leading U.S. carrier. One airline that saw rather grisly margin deterioration was Alaska as fuel, labor and maintenance cost increases severely outpaced revenues. JetBlue and Spirit both did okay, but one was happier than the other. Southwest and Hawaiian posted handsome 12% margins in the off-peak quarter. Meanwhile, Allegiant was in a class by itself, posting a 19% first-quarter profit margin.

For a second straight year, Delta’s operating profit margin has fallen year-over-year in the first quarter. The reason for the decline, once again, is rising costs. The good news: Rising revenues—from nearly every corner of Delta’s network—propelled the airline to a solid 8% operating profit margin. One of the rising costs is, of course, fuel. Are fuel prices putting a damper on earnings overall? IAG seems interested in expanding its empire, having purchased a small stake in Norwegian and considering a full takeover. Lion Air, meanwhile, is purchasing planes… lots and lots of planes. In the U.S., Allegiant came under fire over safety concerns. Lastly, Frontier is adding 69 routes this month alone.