Most Results Are In
To no one's surprise, the first quarter of 2003
was one the major airlines would rather forget. Some did better
than last year (e.g., America West lost roughly a fourth as much as
the same-period in 2002); most did worse.
A couple that bucked the trend included Southwest
and Air Tran. The first, flying 737s, made a tiny profit
-- but still about twelve times what it made last year in the same
period; and the second, flying the quick and miserly 717s, eeked
out some black ink, in what is, so far, the worst-ever year for
airlines.
UPS,
because of its volume a 'major airline,' doesn't break out air
revenues; we're only guessing that it may have been profitable.
American Eagle isn't broken out from American; Air Canada is in a
different accounting and legal world; and FedEx DHL aren't telling
about their aviation segments separately, either. Rather than wait
until April 29 for American Trans Air's results, we thought you'd
be interested in the scorecard, so far.
American |
Q1 loss: $1.04 billion |
United |
EBITDAR 12-1-02 through 2-28-03: $964
million loss |
Delta |
Q1 loss: $466 million |
Northwest |
Q1 loss: $396 million |
US Airways |
emerged from Chapter 11 on March 31; comparable numbers
unavailable |
Continental |
Q1 loss: $221 million |
Southwest |
Profit of $24 million |
Alaska |
Q1 loss: $56.3 million |
Air Tran |
Profit of $2 million |
America West |
Q1 loss: $62 million |
UPS: |
$134 million profit (for international package
segment -- 'airline' breakout not released) |
American Trans Air |
announcing April 29 |
|
|
...and, for what it's worth, Boeing lost $478 million.
From the Biggest:
"Our first quarter results were truly
dreadful," noted AMR's Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer Don Carty. "The results we reported today clearly
demonstrate the negative effects from high fuel prices leading up
to the Iraq war, and passenger concern about traveling before and
after fighting commenced," Carty said.
"The fact remains that we are confronting a brutally difficult
financial and business environment," he said. "We are beset on all
sides by a struggling economy, the continued uncertainties
regarding hostilities in the Middle East, concerns regarding the
SARS outbreak, fuel prices that are significantly higher than they
were a year ago, and fare levels that are at 30-year lows. All
told, it's a perilous climate and our success is far from assured,"
Carty said.
Additionally, given the fluidity of AMR's current situation, the
planned conference between AMR's Senior Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer Jeff Campbell and members of the financial
community and the media was canceled Wednesday.