Airlines 4th Quarter and Annual Results 2010

Delta: $158 million 4th quarter/$1.4 billion 2010
United/Continental: $160 million 4th quarter/1.6 billion 2010
American: $-97 million 4th quarter/-$471 million 2010
U.S. Airways: $28 million 4th quarter/$447 million 2010
Southwest: $131 million 4th quarter/$459 million 2010
Jetblue: $9 million 4th quarter/$91 million 2010
Alaska: $47 million 4th quarter/$263 million 2010


This is a very good trend for the year for everyone, even American Airlines with their big loss.  In 2009 American had a net loss of 1.5 billion so you can see that there was actually a big improvement.  I'm not sure exactly what their problem is, but I do know that they have a VERY old pilot group that will be retiring A LOT of pilots in the next 5-10 years.


These numbers are where we should expect the major airlines to be each year.  Delta and United (The two biggest airlines in the world) should be close to a 2 billion dollar profit each year with the other large airlines somewhere from 500 million to around 1 billion.  If you think these numbers seem high or greedy consider Wal-mart, Chevron, HP, or GE among others making in the HUNDREDS of BILLIONS of dollars each year.  If the economy continues to recover and airlines expand I would hope for larger profits than what I expect above.


Now, we have seen these years happen in the past where it looks as though the industry has things figured out only to see fuel prices, terrorists, or changes in the law cripple them back into the annual multi-billion dollar losses.  Let's keep our heads up and stay supportive and optimistic because a profitable, healthy airline industry is better for all of us.