Rise to the Top

Over the past decade there have been very few airlines able to keep a steady profit and not go into bankruptcy. However, recent statistics have shown that JetBlue Airways and United Airlines have both soared in earnings, especially during its third quarter. As the airline industry began to recover from the September 11 attacks, shares of both companies started steadily rising throughout each quarter. United Airlines, which is based in Chicago, overtime has lowered its costs and increased passenger revenue. The company’s earnings have gone up to around 334 million this quarter, its best quarterly profit in almost seven years. Now the nation’s #2 carrier, United has increased its stock from $1.30 per share to $2.21 in only one year.

Low cost carriers have also proven to be a success in the industry. JetBlue is an example of how an airline can quickly recover after an accident that causes the company to lose millions of dollars. The entire country watched two years ago as a JetBlue flight landed with a cockeyed front nose gear that could have caused a major crash. Fortunately the flight landed safely and no one was hurt on board, but the negative news coverage that came afterwards caused JetBlue’s stock to plummet. Now the company has almost made a complete recovery and returned to become one of the nation’s top airlines once again. JetBlue has earned more than 23 million dollars alone this quarter and expects to keep rising over the next year.

Southwest Airlines is also a great example of how discount carriers become such a huge success in the industry. A few years ago, Southwest bought millions of dollars in fuel reserves that have lasted the airline up until now. Because the company bought the fuel back when it was less than three dollars per gallon, they saved millions by powering the fleet with its own fuel, instead of paying four dollars per gallon like it cost the rest of the airlines. However, now Southwest’s reserves are almost run dry and the upcoming months will show how it will compete using public jet fuel. Overall the airline industry is getting steadily better, which is good for both the economy and anyone who seeks a job in aviation.