North and South American LCCs on the rise, JetBlue leads
North and South American low cost carrier stocks ended the session with gains yesterday, following poor performances in recent sessions. The Dow lifted (+0.05%), with the AMEX Airline Index ending trading 0.11% higher.
- North and South American low-cost carrier stocks rebounded after recent poor performances.
- JetBlue, Allegiant, AirTran, and WestJet experienced gains in their stock prices.
- Frontier Airlines announced the termination of its frequent flyer partnership with AirTran.
- Spirit Airlines threatened job cuts if its pilots go on strike.
- Spirit Airlines pilots have been in negotiations for over three years and have a deadline to reach a new contract.
- The National Mediation Board offered binding arbitration, which the pilots refused, leading to a 30-day cooling-off period.
JetBlue (+3.0%), Allegiant (+2.7%), AirTran (+0.9%) and WestJet (+0.6%) all gained.
Frontier Airlines announced on Monday it will end its frequent flyer partnership with AirTran, effective 16-Jul-2010. Frontier is in the process of integrating the Midwest Miles programme into its EarlyReturns programme. The two are expected to be combined by Autumn 2010
Spirit pilots strike could cause major job cuts - airline
In other US LCC news, Spirit Airlines threatened to cut jobs in transportation and warehousing at Miramar and at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport if its pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, go on strike from 12-Jun-2010. Last week, Spirit Airlines pilots announced they had received confirmation of the 30-day cooling-off period from the National Mediation Board (NMB) and had up until 12-Jun-2010 to reach an agreement on a new pilot contract. After that time, pilots could call a lawful strike.
Spirit pilots have been in negotiations with management for more than three years. In Feb-2010, the pilots applied to the NMB for a proffer of arbitration. On 03-May-2010, the NMB proffered binding arbitration to both sides, which the pilots refused two days later. This refusal allowed the NMB to call for a 30-day cooling-off period.
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Selected LCCs daily share price movements (% change): 17-May-2010
Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, Yahoo! Finance & Reuters