So far, just about every airline in the States that's filed their latest quarterly results have said that they are making serious losses (or at the very least much reduced profits) with the exception of WN which says that it has a 'recession proof' profit. And, given that it has made a profit every year of its existence except for the first one, I'd say they are right.
Here, the picture is the same. On the continent, several airlines have already filed for the equivalent of Chapter 11; and things are only going to get worse.
Yesterday's US market report for RVR800:
Stocks tumbled to 14-week lows yesterday as dour forecasts from industry leaders AT&T and new mass layoffs at Lucent Technologies suggested the slump in corporate profits is far from over. Amazon.com also rattled Wall
Street when the online retail giant said sales could slow further amid feeble economic growth. Amid the busiest week of the earnings reporting season, companies are unable to predict when profits will turn up again.
The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled for the third session in a row, dropping 183.3 points, or 1.76%, to 10241.12. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 19.38 points, or 1.63%, to 1171.65, its lowest close since
mid-April. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite also dropped for a third
session, losing 29.32 points, or 1.47%, to 1959.24, compounding Monday’s loss of 2%. Stocks fell broadly across sectors and only eight industry groups out of 107 tracked by S&P gained. Struggling telecoms equipment
giant Lucent posted a loss and said it would cut its work force by another 15,000 to 20,000 jobs. Lucent, the most heavily traded stock on the NYSE, fell $1.48, over 18%, to $6.42. AT&T said stiff competition and weak
prices in the long-distance phone market hurt profits, and warned third-quarter revenues may fall. Its shares fell 61 cents to $19.44. Exxon Mobil, the oil company, posted higher earnings, thanks to lofty crude oil and natural gas prices and robust profits from refining, but dropped $1.53 to $40.97. Rival Chevron also slid, despite posting better earnings. It fell $2.46 to $85.18. However, McDonalds gained 62 cents to $28.39 after
reporting profits that came in line with Wall Street’s forecasts.