Hit hard by rising jet fuel costs, the United States' major passenger airlines combined for more than $1.3 billion in losses in the first quarter, in the worst financial performance for the carriers in nearly three years, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The carriers' combined operating loss margin in the first three months was 5.2 percent, the DOT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics said, a sharp turn downward from the 7.7 percent profit margin the airlines showed in last year's first quarter. The results were particularly bleak since they came largely before a sharp escalation in jet fuel prices that sent finances into a tailspin.
Fuel had an enormous impact on the results, however, eating up 29.4 percent of the airlines' operating expenses in the first quarter compared to 13.8 percent in the same quarter five years ago. Fuel cost the seven largest passenger airlines more than $7.9 billion in the first quarter and the expense per available seat mile was 50 percent greater than in the same quarter last year. |
