United Continental Holdings Inc

Current valuation Southwest Airlines (LUV) has a forward EV-to-EBITDA[1. enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization] multiple of 7.1x. This is the highest multiple among the major airline carriers and is higher than its average valuation of 6.3x since September 2008. Peer comparisons American Airlines (AAL) is trading at a similar valuation […]

As of September 19, 2017, one analyst out of the 15 analysts tracking JetBlue Airways (JBLU) had a “strong buy” recommendation on the stock.

TK

For August 2017, AAL’s international traffic increased 6.9% year-over-year. Year-to-date, its international traffic has increased 5.5% YoY.

American Airlines’ (AAL) capacity grew 3.2% year-over-year in August, significantly higher than its 0.4% year-over-year growth reported in the previous seven months.

United Continental’s (UAL) EBITDA is expected to fall 10% to $1.8 billion.

At the start of the year, United announced its plan to grow its capacity by 0%–1%, in line with GDP growth expectations.

UAL is currently trading at $76. Its 52-week high is $83.04, and its 52-week low is $37.64.

AAL’s utilization rose 0.3% YoY (year-over-year) in February, then by 1.8% YoY in April and 0.2% YoY in May.

For May 2017, American Airlines (AAL) reported a 2.3% YoY (year-over-year) growth in capacity—its highest growth so far in 2017.

Only one analyst has upgraded Delta Air Lines (DAL) since it released its traffic data on Friday, June 2, 2017.

The airline industry is very capital-intensive, so airlines generally have huge debt numbers on their balance sheets.

Currently, American Airlines (AAL) is valued at 6.6x its forward EV-to-EBITDA ratio (enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization).

As opposed to most other airlines that have been reducing their debts, American Airlines’ (AAL) debt has risen, partly due to its focus on completing its integration with US Airways.

For 2016 overall, United Continental (UAL) has generated $5.5 billion in operating cash flow and $1.9 billion in free cash flow.

For 1Q17, analysts are now expecting United Continental’s (UAL) EBITDA to fall 39% to $0.81 billion.

Airlines have long been known as capital destroyers. In times of profitability (such as now), they increase capacity to an extent that can’t be filled.

The load factor Airlines’ capacity utilization is measured using the passenger load factor, which is calculated by dividing traffic by capacity. Analyzing airlines’ load factors As discussed in the previous article, most airlines saw high capacity growth in January 2017. As a result, all airlines except JetBlue Airways witnessed a decline in their load factors. […]

Until 3Q16, Delta Air Lines (DAL) had managed to keep its costs flat if not decreasing. However…

Delta Air Lines (DAL) saw average traffic of about 50 million passenger miles for the quarter, a 0.8% year-over-year improvement

United expects to add $800 million to profits by increasing seats from 105 per departure to 121 per departure in 2018.

For 4Q16, analysts are expecting United Continental’s (UAL) EBITDA to fall 26% to $1.4 billion.

For November 2016, American Airlines’s (AAL) load factor fell 0.3% and year-to-date 2016, its load factor fell 1.3%.

In November 2016, American Airlines’s (AAL) traffic fell 0.2% year-over-year, slightly lagging its capacity growth in the same period. Year-to-date, AAL’s traffic has increased 0.3%.

American Airlines’s (AAL) capacity grew 0.1% year-over-year in November 2016, similar to the growth seen during most of 2016. Year-to-date, AAL’s capacity has grown 1.9%.

For November 2016, Alaska Air Group’s capacity rose 2.8% YoY (year-over-year). It’s the slowest growth in any month in 2016.

JetBlue announced that it had undertaken a small stake (the exact stake is unclear) in JetSuite, the fourth-biggest private jet operator in the United States.

For the third quarter of the year, JetBlue Airways’ (JBLU) operating expenses—excluding fuel and profit sharing—rose 3.1% to 7.86 cents.

For 3Q16, JetBlue Airways’ (JBLU) revenues stood at $1.73 billion—a 2.6% year-over-year increase compared to revenue of $1.69 billion in 3Q15.

TRBCX has had quite a poor run in 2016 so far. The fund places in the bottom three in the YTD period among the 12 funds in this review.

Analysts expect JetBlue Airways’ (JBLU) 3Q16 revenue to come in at $1.7 billion, a year-over-year rise of 2.2%.

All airline pilots have their eyes on Delta Air Lines’ (DAL) final agreement with its pilots. This is because Delta’s deal will set a precedent in the industry.

The airline industry is cyclical, which means that its business depends on the country’s economic growth. Most analysts have revised their GDP estimates downward, resulting in a consensus estimate of 2.9% YoY growth.

Foreign currency fluctuations and lower fuel surcharges in the international market will have a negative impact on Alaska Air Group’s unit revenues.

For August 2016, Alaska Air Group’s (ALK) capacity increased by 10.3% YoY. After average growth of 13% in 1Q16, its growth slowed down to 11% in 2Q16.

In July 2016, Southwest Airlines’ (LUV) traffic grew by 1.4% YoY, which was slightly lower than its capacity growth of 2.3% YoY.

Alaska Air Group (ALK) does not give any future unit revenue guidance. However, we can expect the PRASM’s decline to continue.

For July 2016, Alaska Air Group’s (ALK) capacity increased by 9.6% year-over-year. After an average growth of 13% in 1Q16, growth slowed to 11% in 2Q16 and is slowing further in the third quarter.

Capacity growth Like other airlines, JetBlue Airways (JBLU) has taken advantage of falling crude oil prices to expand its existing fleet. JetBlue’s double-digit revenue growth has been fueled by double-digit growth in its capacity. Historically, JetBlue Airways has seen the highest capacity growth among the seven major airlines. Spirit Airlines (SAVE) has seen the highest growth, followed by Alaska […]

For airlines such as American Airlines (AAL), we go a step further and use an EV+ Op. leases-to-EBITDAR ratio.

Some key strengths keep American Airlines ahead of its competitors. It’s the largest airline in fleet, capacity, and number of passengers. It also has a strong hold on key hubs.

American Airlines’ (AAL) capacity growth is one of the slowest in the industry. However, it has the highest capacity among its peers.

In this part of the series, we’ll look at the main services and categories that add to American Airlines’ (AAL) revenues. The major component of revenues still comes from airfares.

After the merger, American Airlines became the world’s leading airline in terms of fleet size, network, and finances. American Airlines stock has risen more than 270% since 2011.

In February 2016, the airline capacity of the eight major airlines exceeded their traffic growth by an average of 2%.

The airline industry is a capital-intensive industry with heavy investments required in building infrastructure, fleets, and their maintenance. As a result, airline stocks generally have high levels of debt on their balance sheets.

Spirit Airlines has historically followed a low-cost structure, and took numerous measures to keep its cost components the lowest in the industry.

For 1Q16, Delta Air Lines (DAL) expects to see its operating margins improve to 18%–20%, backed by solid cost savings and lower fuel prices.

For the seventh consecutive year, Alaska Airlines held the top spot in Customer Satisfaction among the Traditional Network Carriers survey conducted by J.D. Power.

Southwest is known to be the pioneer of low cost travel in the industry. Its 42-year record of profitable operations is enough to prove the success of the company’s business model.