Jul. 24--AirTran Airways reported its first profit since last year's terrorist attacks and said it will keep expanding despite the industry's continuing losses.
The discount carrier, which reported net income of $5.1 million in the second quarter, has been one of the few airlines to keep adding new planes and destinations this year.
While AirTran and fellow discount airlines recently have been reporting at least small profits, the rest of the industry is on its way to nearly matching last year's losses totaling more than $6 billion, according to some analysts.
The airline industry is likely to lose $5.5 billion this year and $1.6 billion next year because of continued weak demand, particularly from business travelers, where airlines make most of their profit, projected Sam Buttrick of UBS Warburg in a recent report.
Last week, Delta Air Lines joined other big carriers in reporting a loss for the second quarter, of $186 million.
In contrast, Southwest Airlines posted a $102 million profit last week, while analysts expect discount carrier JetBlue Airways to report a profit of about $9.6 million on Thursday.
In the current business climate, it's a "near certainty" that discount airlines will continue to gain market share at the big carriers' expense, said Buttrick.
The discount carrier, which reported net income of $5.1 million in the second quarter, has been one of the few airlines to keep adding new planes and destinations this year.
While AirTran and fellow discount airlines recently have been reporting at least small profits, the rest of the industry is on its way to nearly matching last year's losses totaling more than $6 billion, according to some analysts.
The airline industry is likely to lose $5.5 billion this year and $1.6 billion next year because of continued weak demand, particularly from business travelers, where airlines make most of their profit, projected Sam Buttrick of UBS Warburg in a recent report.
Last week, Delta Air Lines joined other big carriers in reporting a loss for the second quarter, of $186 million.
In contrast, Southwest Airlines posted a $102 million profit last week, while analysts expect discount carrier JetBlue Airways to report a profit of about $9.6 million on Thursday.
In the current business climate, it's a "near certainty" that discount airlines will continue to gain market share at the big carriers' expense, said Buttrick.
