The Boeing machinists strike has been going on for a month. Spirit Airlines might not be going anywhere for much longer. Hurricane Milton made its mark on the airline industry before it even made landfall. Plus, Southwest Airlines got a $100 million vote of confidence from one of its newest board members.
Take a moment to catch up on what’s been happening in the world of airlines.
Spirit Airlines (SAVE) lost more than a quarter of its remaining value Friday — it’s down 28% after investors suspected it might file for bankruptcy soon. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the company is in talks with bondholders about what a debt restructuring might look like.
Southwest Airlines (LUV) just got a big endorsement of its turnaround plan — from the inside. Reuters reports that board of directors member Rakesh Gangwal, the founder of the Indian budget airline Indigo, purchased a $100 million block of shares of the company.
Striking machinists at Boeing (BA) are getting support from Congressional representatives as their work stoppage enters its third week. Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, the senior whip in the House Democratic Caucus, visited the workers on the picket line and spoke in support of them.
Boeing (BA) is back at the table with the machinists who have been on strike for more than three weeks. Some economy observers are comparing the work stoppage’s impact to that of Hurricane Helene.
JetBlue (JBLU) is making a big change to its transatlantic flight offerings. CNN (WBD) reports that the company’s “core” fares flying to Europe and the U.K. will no longer come with hot meals.
As category-4 Hurricane Milton barrels toward Florida with an expected landfall occurring Wednesday morning, many of the state’s most heavily trafficked airports are shutting down operations. Among them are Orlando International Airport and Tampa International Airport.
As Hurricane Milton barrels toward the Tampa Bay, Florida, area, budget carrier Allegiant Air (ALGT) is facing major disruptions on multiple fronts. Plane-tracking site FlightAware says the company has canceled 63% of its Wednesday flights and 43% of its Thursday ones — plus, the company’s troubled southwest Florida resort has been dealt a string of hurricane-driven blows.
As the Boeing machinist strike threatens to drag into its fourth week with no end in sight, it remains unclear where things go from here. The company is losing hundreds of millions of dollars in badly needed cash, but that hasn’t prompted it to strike a deal.
Delta Air Lines (DAL) reported third-quarter earnings Thursday. Revenue ($15.7 billion) and profits ($1.4 billion of operating income) were in line with expectations, but the company pointed to a speed bump ahead.
Airbus might be nervously looking over its shoulder if it weren’t for a nearly month-long machinist strike at its arch-rival Boeing (BA). The French planemaker announced that it delivered 50 commercial airliners in September, a sharp slowdown from earlier this summer and another sign that the other half of a global aviation duopoly has its own issues to worry about.
