Three airlines — Northwest, JetBlue and AirTran Holdings — posted fourth-quarter losses on Tuesday as rising fuel costs erased gains from fare increases.þþBut the losses were narrower than expected for Northwest and JetBlue, and shares rose as a result.þþNorthwest said its deficit was $8 million after a $267 million loss in bankruptcy in the period a year earlier. JetBlue’s $4 million loss compared with net income of $17 million. AirTran pared its loss to $2.17 million from $3.55 million.þþFuel is “the principal culprit,” said David Swierenga, president of consulting firm AeroEcon in Round Rock, Tex. “The softening economy is clearly also having a negative effect.”þþTuesday’s results from the three carriers echoed those reported earlier by larger rivals, including American and United, which also blamed fuel for blunting benefits from higher fourth-quarter ticket prices.þþJetBlue’s shares rose $1 to $5.94, as its loss was also narrower than expected.þþNorthwest gained 65 cents, to $18.59 while AirTran rose 35 cents, or 4.5 percent, to $8.84.þþThe loss at Northwest was 3 cents a share, narrower than the loss of 8 cents projected in a Bloomberg survey of nine analysts. Sales rose 3.9 percent to $3.1 billion.þþThe airline said it would have broken even except for a $14 million pretax loss from selling its remaining holdings in the commuter carrier Pinnacle Airlines. The quarterly loss was Northwest’s first since it left bankruptcy in May.þþSpending on fuel rose 16 percent to $937 million, making it Northwest’s largest cost and helping to increase operating expenses by 4.3 percent. Higher prices were partially offset by a drop in fuel consumption.þþJetBlue’s net loss was 2 cents a share compared with profit of 10 cents a year earlier. Sales rose 17 percent to $739 million. The airline was expected to post a loss of 5 cents a share, the average of estimates by 13 analysts compiled by Bloomberg.þþThe airline is trimming its 2008 capacity expansion for a second time. Seating will rise in a range of 5 percent to 8 percent compared with an earlier plan for growth of 6 percent to 9 percent, JetBlue said. þþAirTran, which flies mostly in the eastern United States, narrowed its loss to 2 cents a share from 4 cents a year earlier. Analysts predicted a 1-cent loss. Sales rose 27 percent to $583.8 million.þþA 35 percent jump in the airline’s fuel bill, along with an 11 percent increase in labor costs, ended a string of three profitable quarters. þþ
Source: NY Times
