Chicago, July 19: Three major US airlines posted quarterly profits, aided by millions of dollars in security reimbursement from the US government, but unprofitable airfares remained the norm. Continental posted a net profit of $79m while at Delta, the net profit was $184m. American Airlines parent AMR, though, reported a net loss of $75m and an operating loss of $357m.
But each of the three profitable carriers would have had losses without the millions of dollars in security reimbursements from the federal government, which came during the second quarter as the US led an attack on Iraq. Meanwhile, Boeing, the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial airplanes, said it was cutting another 4,000-5,000 jobs by the year-end.
In yet another sign of how badly the industry has deteriorated, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines all reported second-quarter profits, unlike the world’s largest airline,
That is on top of 35,000 already shed in the jetliner unit. Bureau Report