However, oil prices have begun to rise once again, and Gulf Coast jet fuel prices have climbed by $0.20 per gallon since the end of June. As a result, airlines will need revenue growth to accelerate this summer and beyond in order to deliver further earnings improvement. Fortunately, all of the major airlines have seen relatively strong demand for the summer season, and most expect to see unit revenues continue to increase this fall. This should allow the airlines to maintain their recent earnings momentum.
Summer demand looks strong
Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) has been at or near the top of the industry in terms of unit revenue growth for the past two years. The carrier saw very strong demand around the July 4 holiday, which is helping to drive an expected 3% improvement in unit revenue for July. Management expects unit revenue for the rest of the quarter to improve in a similar fashion, as Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) continues to gain share in the corporate market.
By contrast, United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE:UAL) reported very disappointing unit revenue numbers for most of 2012, due to integration problems. However, the company has made up a little bit of ground in 2013, leading the industry in unit revenue gains in several different months, including June.
United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE:UAL)’s outlook for July is similar to Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)’s, with unit revenue projected to improve 2.5%-3.5%. However, the company expects some strengthening in August and September, with unit revenue expected to increase by 3%-5% for the full quarter. Some of the upside may be due to United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE:UAL)’s poor performance last summer (when a variety of reliability problems led many customers to take their business elsewhere), making for easier comparisons.
US Airways Group Inc (NYSE:LCC) has lagged the industry a bit in unit revenue performance during 2013, because its capacity has been growing due to the addition of larger Airbus A321 aircraft to its fleet. However, management expects June unit revenue to increase by around 4%, followed by 2%-4% gains in August and September. This implies that US Airways Group Inc (NYSE:LCC) will keep pace with the rest of the industry on the unit revenue front, which should lead to strong profitability due to good cost control.
The outlook is murkiest at Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV), which has gone from industry darling to problem child recently. Like US Airways Group Inc (NYSE:LCC), Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) is adding larger aircraft to its fleet, which depresses unit revenue. However, the integration of AirTran is causing additional headwinds, which led to unit revenue declines in each month last quarter. Fortunately, the tide seems to be turning. Unit revenue is expected to show a 3% improvement in July, and management seems relatively happy about advance bookings for the rest of the quarter.
