Republic and JetBlue rebound; Allegiant and American slip again
Despite a slight drop in the Dow Jones Index (-0.3%), North and South American carriers' stocks were mixed on Wednesday (02-Sep-09) after a weak start to the day. The AMEX Airline Index (+0.9%) rose after plunging 5% yesterday, as oil prices slipped (-0.2%), to USD67.93. also fell.
Republic Airways (+5.2%) was the biggest gainer of the day. The carrier commenced its codeshare deal with Midwest Airlines during the day. Frontier Airlines announced after trading that creditors have approved its bankruptcy reorganization plan and the purchase of the carrier by Republic. Republic expects to close on its purchase of Frontier on 01-Oct-09.
JetBlue (+4.6%) and US Airways (+4.3%) stocks also gained, while Continental (+4.3%) rose on the back of its Aug-2009 traffic results, released after trading the day prior.
Hawaiian (+0.7%) rose slightly on the announcement it expanded its codeshare arrangement with Korean Air on 01-Sep-2009, covering Korean Air's Incheon-Honolulu and Incheon-Busan services. The agreement is to be further expanded in the near future to include Korean Air services to Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Allegiant (-2.3%) and American (-2.3%) led those carriers which slipped during the day. American Airlines launched a "Double Elite-Qualifying Miles" promotion allowing AAdvantage members to earn twice the elite status qualifying miles when they fly on American Airlines, American Eagle, and AmericanConnection between 02-Sep-2009 and 15-Dec-2009, suggesting the carrier has surplus inventory over the period.
Both AirTran (-0.3%) and Alaska Airlines (-0.4%) were down after reporting Aug-2009 traffic results in the afternoon, during trading. AirTran reported a 4.5% decline in passenger traffic, to 2.3 million over the month. Traffic (RPMs) fell 6.1%, on a 3.4% reduction in capacity (ASMs), leading to a 2.4% decline in load factor, to 84.9%.
Alaska Airlines meanwhile reported a 7.5% fall in passenger traffic for the month, to 1.5 million passengers. Traffic (RPMs) fell 0.8%, on a 2.9% reduction in capacity, leading to a 1.8% improvement in load factor, to 84.3%
North & South America selected airlines daily share price movements (% change): 02-Sep-09
Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation & Yahoo! Finance