Airlines for America: US airlines net profit up 33% in 1H2013

Airlines for America (A4A) reported (22-Aug-2013) 10 US passenger airlines, Alaska Airlines, Allegiant, American Airlines, Delta, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways, collectively recorded a net profit of USD1.6 billion, +33.3% year-on-year, in 1H2013. This translates to a net margin of 2.1%, an improvement of 0.5 ppt. The airline association stated despite a slight fuel-price relief in 1H2013, jet fuel remains the airline industry's single largest and most volatile expense, having already risen USD 26 cents per gallon since the end of Jun-2013. Every penny increase in the price of a gallon p/a costs the industry USD180 million p/a. [more - original PR]