Airlines 4th quarter and 2011

DELTA = $158 million ($1.4 billion 2011)
UNITED = $109 million ($1.3 billion 2011)
AMERICAN = -$1.1 billion (loss) (-$2 billion 2011(loss)) declared chapter 11 bankruptcy
US AIRWAYS = $21 million ($111 million 2011)
SOUTHWEST = $152 million ($178 million 2011)
ALASKA = $37 million ($287 million 2011)
JETBLUE = $40 million ($145 million 2011)
SKYWEST = -$18 million (loss) (-$27 million (loss))

Bad news for Skywest and very bad news for American but it was a pretty good year and quarter overall for the industry. American finally followed suit and declared bankruptcy for the first time. All the other major airlines have already done this at least once in their history. They are actually in a pretty good situation for being bankrupt so there is a good chance they will come back strong, if nobody buys them. Chapter 11 (restructuring not liquidating) has become commonplace in aviation. I do not see another carrier purchasing American because it would be hard for me to believe that the DOT would sign off on it. It would lessen competition too much if another large carrier were to purchase them.

Skywest seems to be in trouble and it worries me. Our management seems to have made some poor decisions lately. We flew more hours last year than ever during the history of our airline, yet suffered a net loss. This does not make sense as our contracts with our major partners (Delta, United, Alaska, US Airways) should all but guarantee a profit especially when all of them were very profitable last year. Management also tells us to expect similar results for the first quarter this year. At least the company has a bunch of cash in the bank.

I also want to reiterate to my friends that I am not the best person to ask advice from regarding how to find cheap airline tickets/deals and also don't come to me for sympathy about paying too much for a ticket. Until the industry recoups the billions and billions of dollars and jobs that were lost in the last decade I will not sympathize with someone who had to pay a price that actually covers the cost of a flight. Fly safe!