Southwest Airlines had a secret weapon in the second quarter: Its fuel hedges. That helped propel it to an impressive 17% operating margin. High oil prices pulled down the results of most other U.S. airlines during what was an otherwise strong quarter. Also, Edward Russell and Jay Shabat discuss what’s next for JetBlue and Spirit now that they’ve agreed to merge.

Southwest Airline’s Secret Weapon

The editors of Airline Weekly discuss the most interesting developments within the commercial airline industry. In keeping with Airline Weekly’s style, conversation generally centers on one question: How do you make money in this industry?

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In part one of this week's specially extended episode, Gordon Smith and Jay Shabat discuss a dramatic few days at American Airlines. In part two, attention turns to Southeast Asia as we discover how some of the region's biggest carriers are performing.

American Airlines and Southeast Asia

In part one, Gordon Smith and Jay Shabat discuss the latest earnings from low-cost giant Ryanair. In part two, our focus turns to the upcoming summer travel season and what it means for the big U.S. airlines.
Background Reading:
Ryanair ‘Don’t Care’ Who the Next Boeing CEO Is
https://skift.com/2024/05/20/ryanair-dont-care-who-the-next-boeing-ceo-is/
Ryanair CEO Slams Boeing Culture: ‘They Love Talking Corporate Bullsh*t’
https://skift.com/2024/03/20/ryanair-ceo-slams-boeing-culture/
What Are Summer Travel Trends for 2024?
https://skift.com/2024/04/12/ask-skift-what-are-summer-travel-trends-for-2024/
What Are the Most Searched Cities for Summer 2024 Flights?
﻿https://skift.com/2024/03/19/what-are-the-most-searched-cities-for-summer-2024-flights/

Ryanair Earnings and U.S. Summer Trends

In part one of today's episode, Gordon Smith and Jay Shabat discuss Emirates' record-breaking results and ask how long these good times can last. In part two, we turn our attention to Brazil and find out how two of the country's biggest airlines are performing. 
Read the latest issue of Airline Weekly every Monday morning at http://airlineweekly.skift.com.

Emirates Earnings and Booming Brazil

Gordon Smith and Jay Shabat explore two big topics in this week's episode. In part one, we examine what Spirit Airlines' Q1 numbers mean for the future direction of the carrier. In part two, we turn our sights across the Pacific to Japan.

Spirit Airlines and Japan

In this week's episode, Gordon Smith and Jay Shabat take a deep-dive into the latest earnings from carriers across the European continent. From airline supergroups to more niche Nordic players, we make sense of the big numbers and ask what they could mean for the coming summer season.

Southwest Airline’s Secret Weapon

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