Airline revenues remain shaky as economy recovers
June 28, 2010, 10:41 pm
The economy continued to show mixed effects on the nation's airlines during the first quarter of 2010, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
According to the federal agency, the six network air carriers posted a loss margin of 0.7 percent in the first quarter, reporting a combined loss of $163 million. Still, this marks an improvement over the combined $867 million loss that was recorded in the first quarter of 2009.
Also, the seven low-cost carriers were said to report a 2.4 percent profit margin, for total profits of $115 million on the quarter, while the six reporting regional carriers saw a 3.9 percent profit margin of $60 million.
Allegiant Air, Spirit and Comair were reported to have the top operating profit margins for the past quarter, while Virgin America saw the largest loss margin.
Airlines also saw more of their operating expenses consumed by fuel costs during the first quarter of 2010. According to the report, the six network airlines spent 23.3 percent of operating expenses on fuel, compared to 19.4 percent for the same time period five years ago.
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