Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 34: Will Virgin and Alaska Be Happy Together?

Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 34: Will Virgin and Alaska Be Happy Together?

Author: Skift April 6, 2016 Duration: 32:55
Alaska Airlines clearly wants to be the dominant carrier on the West Coast, and if its purchase of Virgin America goes through, it will have four focus cities—Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle—all clustered on the Pacific. Such a network might look very different from the network of United, Delta, or American, but that doesn’t mean it won’t work, and it actually resembles the networks of a couple of other successful carriers. All in all, in this episode, we give our blessing to the Alaska-Virgin marriage, even if the wedding will cost a fortune. Plus, we check in on Brazil’s Gol, an airline that reported some frightful losses. And lastly, little Cebu Pacific did it again, serving up stellar profits in Q4 and making 2015 a stellar year.

Step inside the Airline Weekly Lounge, a podcast from Skift where the editors behind the industry publication gather for a deeper, more conversational look at the world of commercial flight. This isn't just a recap of headlines; it's a focused exploration of the complex forces shaping how airlines operate, compete, and ultimately survive. Each episode digs into the week's most intriguing developments, from fleet strategies and route networks to labor dynamics and the evolving culture of travel, always with a keen eye on the bottom line. The central, driving question remains: how do carriers actually turn a profit in this famously volatile business? You'll hear analysis that connects financial results to real-world operations, discussing everything from premium cabin innovations and loyalty program economics to airport politics and environmental pressures. The tone is informed and accessible, peeling back the layers on both major global network carriers and regional players. For anyone curious about the business realities behind their boarding pass, this podcast offers a regular dose of context and clarity, revealing the intricate balance of economics, service, and strategy that keeps the industry aloft. Join the editors in the lounge for a perspective that goes beyond the news cycle.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 423

Airline Weekly Lounge
Podcast Episodes
Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 55: Canadian Continuity [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 54: Qantas' Down Under Wonder [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:44
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Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 53: Korean Competitive Crunch [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:15
Korean carriers Asiana and Korean Air are being squeezed between rapid growth from Chinese carriers and new capacity coming out of Japan. But nonetheless, the two Korean carriers posted some of the most improved earnings…
Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 52: Don't Dismiss Swiss Airlines [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:11
One of the bright spots in the Lufthansa Group’s second quarter earnings report was its Swiss unit, which bested Lufthansa mainline, the Austrian unit and even the healthy maintenance unit. Meanwhile, Eurowings was the w…
Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 51: Air France Is Missing Out [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:04
The second quarter year-over-year profit margin improved at Air France/KLM, but only because of a huge windfall from fuel. In fact, the real story is that the airline group is largely missing out on profits that normally…
Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 50: Have U.S. Airlines Peaked? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:10
Earnings season is in full swing and really there’s too much to talk about within the average commute or treadmill run. So we’ll talk fast. And in this episode, our fast talk starts with American Airlines’ billion-dollar…
Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 49: Delta Does it Again [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:50
Delta Airlines gets a lot of play in this episode, but it’s not because we’re obsessed with Delta. Rather, there are two practical reasons: First, Delta is the the earliest of the big airlines to report. Secondly, with D…
Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 48: Azul’s Ambitions [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:50
Brazil’s Azul is no doubt an innovative airline. But has it become too clever by half with its low-cost longhaul venture? A couple years into the experiment, we discuss it in this episode. Meanwhile, its competitor Gol i…
Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 47: Turkish Troubles [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:31
Turkish Airlines and its cross-town rival Pegasus were seeing trouble in their business before the attack on Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport. In this episode we try to assess—or at least speculate—how the attack…
Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 46: Left Behind by Brexit? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:09
In the wake of Brexit, will the U.K. be able to remain in the European Common Aviation Area? We don’t know. But we do know that if the U.K. is relegated to some other status, it would obviously impact airlines inside and…