For those of you waiting for a pullback in the airlines before loading up, well here’s your chance.
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Airline stocks are getting hammered today after Lufthansa issued a profit warning. Delta Air Lines (DAL) has, while United Continental (UAL) has, American Airlines (AAL) has and Southwest Airlines (LUV) has.
Cowen’s Helane Becker and Conor Cunningham believe “a buying opportunity finally presents itself.” (Italics there’s.) They explain why:
In our view, the airline stocks are weak today due to the profit warning announcement given this morning by Lufthansa German Airlines and its potential pricing impact from overcapacity on the Trans-Atlantic. We believe fast money is selling into this news despite the demand environment remaining very strong for the US carriers. In fact, May traffic/PRASM results were well ahead of expectations, and Delta, Southwest� and American Airlines recently guided numbers up. We believe there is potential for upward revisions to consensus expectations as the demand environment is quite strong. We would be adding to positions on today’s sell off as we believe the summer travel season will be very strong for the group leading to accelerating PRASM trends.
Delta Air Lines, Inc. (Delta) provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo throughout the United States and around the world. The Company�� route network gives it a presence in every domestic and international market. Delta�� route network is centered around the hub system it operate at airports in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. Each of these hub operations includes flights that gather and distribute traffic from markets in the geographic region surrounding the hub to domestic and international cities and to other hubs. The Company�� network is supported by a fleet of aircraft that is varied in terms of size and capabilities.
Delta has bilateral and multilateral marketing alliances with foreign airlines to improve its access to international markets. These arrangements can include code-sharing, reciprocal frequent flyer program benefits, shared or reciprocal access to passenger lounges, joint promotions, common use of airport gates and ticket counters, ticket office co-location, and other marketing agreements. Its international code-sharing agreements enable it to market and sell seats to an expanded number of international destinations. The Company has international codeshare arrangements with Aeromexico, Air France, Air Nigeria, Alitalia, Aeroflot, China Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern, CSA Czech Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air, Olympic Air, Royal Air Maroc, VRG Linhas Aereas (operating as GOL), Vietnam Airlines, Virgin Australia and WestJet Airlines.
In addition to the Company�� marketing alliance agreements with individual foreign airlines, it is a member of the SkyTeam airline alliance. Delta also has frequent flyer and reciprocal lounge agreements with Hawaiian Airlines, and codesharing agreements with American Eagle Airlines (American Eagle) and Hawaiian Airlines. It has air service agreements with multiple do! mestic regional air carriers that feed traffic to its route system by serving passengers primarily in small-and medium-sized cities.
Through the Company�� regional carrier program, it has contractual arrangements with 10 regional carriers to operate regional jet and, in certain cases, turbo-prop aircraft using its DL designator code. In addition to Delta�� wholly owned subsidiary, Comair, it has contractual arrangements with ExpressJet Airlines, Inc. and SkyWest Airlines, Inc., both subsidiaries of SkyWest, Inc.; Chautauqua Airlines, Inc. and Shuttle America Corporation, both subsidiaries of Republic Airways Holdings, Inc.; Pinnacle Airlines, Inc. and Mesaba Aviation, Inc. (Mesaba), both subsidiaries of Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (Pinnacle); Compass Airlines, Inc. (Compass) and GoJet Airlines, LLC, both subsidiaries of Trans States Holdings, Inc. (Trans States), and American Eagle.
The Company�� SkyMiles program allows program members to earn mileage for travel awards by flying on Delta, Delta�� regional carriers and other participating airlines. Mileage credit may also be earned by using certain services offered by program participants, such as credit card companies, hotels and car rental agencies. In addition, individuals and companies may purchase mileage credits. The Company reserves the right to terminate the program with six months advance notice, and to change the program�� terms and conditions at any time without notice.
SkyMiles program mileage credits can be redeemed for air travel on Delta and participating airlines, for membership in the Company�� Delta Sky Clubs and for other program participant awards. Mileage credits are subject to certain transfer restrictions and travel awards are subject to capacity controlled seating. During the year ended December 31, 2011, program members redeemed more than 275 billion miles in the SkyMiles program for more than 12 million award redemptions. During 2011, 8.2% of revenue miles flown on Delta were from a! ward trav! el.
The Company generates cargo revenues in domestic and international markets through the use of cargo space on regularly scheduled passenger aircraft. Delta is a member of SkyTeam Cargo, an airline cargo alliance. SkyTeam Cargo offers a network spanning six continents and provides customers an international product line.
The Company has several other businesses arising from its airline operations, including aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO); staffing services for third parties; vacation wholesale operations, and its private jet operations. Delta�� MRO operation, known as Delta TechOps, is an airline MRO in North America. In addition to providing maintenance and engineering support for its fleet of approximately 775 aircraft, Delta TechOps serves more than 150 aviation and airline customers. Its staffing services business, Delta Global Services, provides staffing services, professional security, training services and aviation solutions to approximately 150 customers. The Company�� vacation wholesale business, MLT Vacations, is the provider of vacation packages in the United States. Its private jet operations, Delta Private Jets, provides aircraft charters, aircraft management and programs allowing members to purchase flight time by the hour.
The Company competes with SkyTeam, United Air Lines, Continental Airlines, Lufthansa German Airlines, Air Canada, American Airlines, British Airways and Qantas.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Jonathan Yates]
Stock prices for United Continental (NYSE: UAL), US Airways Group (NYSE: LCC), and Delta Airlines (NYSE: DAL) have soared for 2013.
Pretty remarkable, when you consider the level of debt each of these companies is carrying.�When the market turns, as it always does, the heavy leverage will be a tremendous burden on the ability of all of these airlines to compete and survive.
- [By Ben Eisen and Saumya Vaishampayan]
Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) � climbed 5.2% after the firm said its passenger unit revenue was up 10% in December.
- [By Adam Levine-Weinberg]
The battle for New York is heating up. America's two largest airlines, United Continental (NYSE: UAL ) and Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL ) are waging a running battle for the hearts and minds of New Yorkers, in an effort to win market share in the country's largest aviation market. More than 100 million people move through New York airports each year, and there is a heavy concentration of high-fare business travelers, making this a critical market for the legacy carriers.
- [By DAILYFINANCE]
John Mone/APSouthwest Airlines aircraft technicians install newer, skinnier seats on a 737 at the carrier's headquarters in Dallas. It's not your imagination. There really is a tighter squeeze on many planes these days. The big U.S. airlines are taking out old, bulky seats in favor of so-called slimline models that take up less space from front to back, allowing for five or six more seats on each plane. The changes, covering some of the most common planes flown on domestic and international routes, give the airlines two of their favorite things: More paying passengers, and a smaller fuel bill because the seats are slightly lighter. It's part of a trend among the airlines to view seats as money-makers, not just pieces of furniture. Add a few inches of legroom and airlines can charge more for tickets. Take away a few inches and they can fit more seats on the plane. Some passengers seem to mind the tighter squeeze more than others. The new seats generally have thinner padding. And new layouts on some planes have made the aisles slightly narrower, meaning the dreaded beverage cart bump to the shoulder happens more often. And this is all going on in coach at a time when airlines are spending heavily to add better premium seats in the front of the plane. Whether the new seats are really closer together depends on how you measure. By the usual measure, called "pitch," the new ones are generally an inch closer together from front to back as measured at the armrest. Airlines say you won't notice. And the new seats are designed to minimize this problem. The seats going onto Southwest's 737s have thinner seatback magazine pockets. Passengers on Alaska Airlines (ALK) will find slightly smaller tray tables. United's new seats put the magazine pocket above the tray table, getting it away from passengers' knees. And seat-makers saved some space with lighter-weight frames and padding. This allows airlines to claim that passengers have as much above-the-knee "personal sp
Best Airline Stocks To Watch For 2015: Indonesia Transport & Infrastructure Tbk PT (IATA)
PT Indonesia Transport & Infrastructure Tbk, formerly PT Indonesia Air Transport Tbk, is an Indonesia-based air transport service provider. The Company provides air transportation, hiring and/or leasing aircrafts, repairs and maintenance of aircrafts and trading of aviation technical equipment and related spare parts. It also provides medical evacuation services, tourism and scheduled flight services to several routes in central and eastern Indonesia. The Company operates various types of fixed wing aircrafts and helicopters, such as EC 155 B1, AS 365 Dauphin N2 twin turbine helicopter, Beechcraft 1900D, ATR 42-300, ATR 42-500 and Fokker 50.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Shereen El Gazzar]
The forecast, from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), sees the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region with the strongest international passenger growth, with a compound average growth rate of 6.3% and 5.7% respectively.
Best Airline Stocks To Watch For 2015: Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYA)
Ryanair Holdings plc (Ryanair Holdings), is a holding company for Ryanair Limited (Ryanair). Ryanair operates a low-cost, scheduled-passenger airline serving short-haul, point-to-point routes between Ireland, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, and Morocco. As of June 30, 2012, the Company offered approximately over 1,500 scheduled short-haul flights per day serving approximately 160 airports largely throughout Europe with an operating fleet of 294 aircraft flying approximately 1,500 routes. Ryanair sells seats on a one-way basis. The Company also holds a 29.8% interest in Aer Lingus Group plc. As of June 30, 2012, Ryanair�� operating fleet was composed of 294 Boeing 737-800 aircraft, each having 189 seats. Ryanair�� fleet totaled 294 Boeing 737-800s at March 31, 2012. As of June 30, 2012, Ryanair owned and operated four Boeing 737-800 full flight simulators for pilot training.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Inyoung Hwang]
Ryanair Holdings Plc (RYA), the discount airline operator that�� the second-biggest stock in Ireland�� ISEQ index, declined 1.7 percent to 7.23 euros in Dublin. Kerry Group, a supplier of food ingredients, sank 1.4 percent to 45.24 euros.
Best Airline Stocks To Watch For 2015: Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK)
Alaska Air Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, Alaska Airlines, Inc. and Horizon Air Industries, Inc., operates as an airline company serving destinations in the western United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company provides passenger air services; and freight and mail services primarily to and within the state of Alaska and on the West Coast. As of December 31, 2009, it operated a fleet of 110 jet aircraft; and Horizon Air Industries operated a fleet of 18 jets and 40 turboprop aircraft. The company was founded in 1932 and is based in Seattle, Washington.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Ben Levisohn]
Shares of Alaska Air (ALK) are falling today after it was cut by the folks at Raymond James, while Delta Air Lines (DAL) is gaining after getting hit hard earlier this week.
Associated Press Raymond James analysts Savanthi Syth and James Parker explain why they downgraded Alaska Air:
We are downgrading Alaska Air from Outperform to Market Perform due to the risk to our 2015 EPS estimate from intensifying competitive capacity pressure. While 1Q15 schedules are still very preliminary, it appears competitive seat capacity growth is set to accelerate to 12% y/y from the already elevated ~6% y/y level over the previous 6 quarters. We continue to believe that Alaska will use its dominant market position and strong balance sheet to successfully compete with Delta and support its stock. However, while the competitive issues in Seattle are not new, we believe significant upside to the stock in the near term is unlikely given risks to 2015 earnings estimates.
Speaking of Delta, it plunged 5.2% on Wednesday after the airline said revenues would be lower than it thought. Wolfe Research’s Hunter Keay and Jared Shojaian look into Delta’s miss:
August was the third straight month of underwhelming PRASM results from Delta Air Lines. Perhaps not coincidentally Alaska Air and JetBlue (JBLU) have been underperforming industry PRASM lately as well, two airlines defending themselves against Delta Air Lines. To be sure, Delta Air Lines��PRASM is still growing faster than its CASM, which means margins are expanding y/y, but the rate of margin change is likely to be ��ess good��relative to United Continental (UAL) and American Airlines (AAL) due to Delta Air Lines’ capacity choices. We like Delta Air Lines, just not as much as most other Outperform-rated airlines.
Shares of Alaska Air have dropped 1.1% to $47.13 at 1:53 p.m., while Delta Air Lines has gained 0.5% to $39.47, JetBlue has risen 0.4% to $12.57, United Continent
Best Airline Stocks To Watch For 2015: Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA)
Deutsche Lufthansa AG is a Germany-based aviation company with global operations and a total of more than 400 subsidiaries and associated companies. The Company is engaged in passenger transport, airfreight and airline services. The Lufthansa Group operates in five major business segments: scheduled passenger air traffic (Passenger Airline Group) consists of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Lufthansa CityLine GmbH, Swiss International Air Lines AG, Austrian Airlines AG, Air Dolomiti S.p.A., Eurowings Luftverkehrs AG and Germanwings GmbH; scheduled airfreight services (Logistics) consists of the Lufthansa Cargo group; maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) consists of the Lufthansa Technik group; information technology (IT Services) consists of the Lufthansa Systems group, and catering (Catering) consists of the LSG Lufthansa Sky Chefs group. On April 20, 2012, the Company announced the divestiture of British Midland Ltd. (bmi) to International Consolidated Airlines Group SA.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Jonathan Morgan]
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA), Europe�� largest airline by sales, advanced 3.1 percent to 15.52 euros as a gauge of travel and leisure companies posted the biggest gain of the 19 industry groups in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. EasyJet Plc rallied after saying its fiscal third-quarter revenue climbed.
- [By Tom Stoukas]
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA) and Allianz SE (ALV) led airlines and insurers lower, retreating at least 1.5 percent. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) slid 1.6 percent. Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) rose after JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its recommendation on the shares. Gildemeister AG (GIL) added 3.4 percent after Deutsche Bank upgraded the maker of cutting tools.
- [By Jonathan Morgan]
German stocks were little changed, as declines in utilities and banks offset gains in Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA) and Deutsche Boerse AG.
RWE AG (RWE), Germany�� second-largest utility, slipped 2.4 percent after RBC Capital Markets cut its recommendation on the stock. Lufthansa followed its European peers higher, recovering some of its Aug. 2 selloff. Xing AG (O1BC), the business social network, jumped the most since October as Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) upgraded its rating on the shares.
Best Airline Stocks To Watch For 2015: Allegiant Travel Co (ALGT)
Allegiant Travel Company, incorporated on April 4, 2006, is a leisure travel company focused on providing travel services and products to residents of small, underserved cities in the United States. The Company operates a passenger airline marketed primarily to leisure travelers in small cities, allowing it to sell air transportation both on a stand-alone basis and bundled with the sale of air-related and third party services and products. In addition, it provides air transportation under fixed fee flying arrangements. The Company provides scheduled air transportation on limited frequency nonstop flights between small city markets and leisure destinations. As of February 1, 2013, its operating fleet consisted of 58 MD-80 aircraft and six Boeing 757-200 aircraft providing service on 191 routes to 85 cities including 13 leisure destinations and 72 small cities and including cities served seasonally. In January 2012, the Company took ownership of two MD-80 aircraft. In October 2012, the Company announced the formation of Allegiant Systems, a joint venture with AvIntel and Lixar IT.
The Company provides unbundled air-related services and products in conjunction with air transportation for an additional cost to customers. These optional air-related services and products include use of its Website for purchases, use of its call center for purchases, advance seat assignment, baggage fees, priority boarding, its own travel protection product, change fees, food and beverage purchases on board and other air-related services. The Company offers third party travel products, such as hotel rooms, ground transportation (rental cars and hotel shuttle products) and attractions (show tickets) bundled with the purchase of its air transportation.
The Company provides air transportation through fixed fee agreements and charter service on a seasonal and ad-hoc basis for other customers. As of February 1, 2013, its operating aircraft consisted of 58 MD-80 aircraft and six Boeing 757-200 aircraft. D! uring the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company has entered into purchase agreements to acquire seven Airbus A320 aircraft and operating lease agreements for an additional nine Airbus A319 aircraft.
The Company competes with AirTran, Frontier, Spirit, Southwest, US Airways, Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, Delta, Xtra, United and American.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Adam Levine-Weinberg]
The "reformed" airlines
However, not every airline follows the failed policies that have justified Buffett's negative opinion of the sector. Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL ) and Allegiant Travel (NASDAQ: ALGT ) have both distinguished themselves in recent years through their use of used aircraft to reduce capital expenditures.
- [By DAILYFINANCE]
AP NEW YORK -- American Airlines and US Airways (LCC) have cleared the last major hurdle to merging, now that the Justice Department has agreed to the deal if they scale back their combined footprint in some major airports. But it will be several months -- if not years -- before passengers see any significant impact from a union that will create the world's biggest airline. Passengers with existing tickets on American or US Airways -- and members of both frequent flier programs -- shouldn't fret. No changes will come immediately. Since announcing the deal in February, the two airlines have been working behind the scenes to try and make the merger as seamless as possible. Following Tuesday's agreement with the Justice Department, the two airlines said they expect the deal to close in December. But that doesn't mean everything will happen overnight. When the deal does close, here's what passengers can expect: Airfares During the past five years, the airline industry has seen the combinations of Delta (DAL) with Northwest, United (UAL) with Continental and Southwest Airlines (LUV) with AirTran. The price of a domestic round-trip flight has climbed more than 15 percent since 2009, when adjusted for inflation, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The merger will give a combined American and US Airways Group Inc. the ability to increase fares. United, Delta and Southwest would be likely to follow. Although it could also pave the way for further expansion by discount airlines such as Spirit Airlines (SAVE) and Allegiant Travel (ALGT). Frequent Flier Miles Your miles will be safe. After the merger closes, the two airlines will likely combine the miles into one program and elite status from one airline will likely be honored on the other. That puts the occasional traveler closer to rewards. The merged carrier will continue American's participation in the OneWorld alliance, which was founded by American, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qant
- [By Seth Jayson]
Allegiant Travel (Nasdaq: ALGT ) reported earnings on July 23. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Allegiant Travel met expectations on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.
- [By Sean Williams]
The comforting fact about many of these charges, if there is one, is that they're usually optional. You don't have to buy a $3 bottle of water from Spirit Airlines (NASDAQ: SAVE ) or pay $17 to $25 for a pillow and blanket from Allegiant Travel (NASDAQ: ALGT ) if you don't want to -- and they're often confined to a single airline. However, one charge is slowly infiltrating the sector that may soon become commonplace and promises to be a game-changer -- namely, the carry-on baggage fee.
