United Continental Holdings Inc is scrapping plans to add flights this year, and says it will drop unprofitable routes because of rising fuel prices.
The announcement on Monday is the latest example of airlines shifting plans because of the run-up in oil prices. Southwest Airlines matched an industry-wide fare hike, and the smaller Frontier Airlines said it would reduce growth plans.
United Continental now plans to do about the same amount of flying this year as it did last year. Domestic flying is expected to fall as much as 2.5 percent, with international flying up as much as 3.5 percent.
United said it will remove less fuel-efficient planes from its fleet and plans other cost cuts.
The oil price uncertainty has led carriers to scale back plans to boost seat capacity. Frontier Airlines, a unit of Republic Airways Holdings, announced on Monday that capacity will be flat in the second quarter, against previous plans for growth of as much as 2.5 percent.
AMR Corp’s American Airlines said last week it would cut capacity growth for this year by 1 percent to 3.3 percent, and Delta last month outlined a capacity cut and plans to retire older, less fuel-efficient aircraft such as DC9s.
US airlines are also raising fares and rolling out surcharges as runaway fuel prices threaten to eat into profits. JetBlue Airways Corp said on Monday it recently implemented a US$45 one-way surcharge in select Caribbean markets. Delta Air Lines Inc said its surcharges vary by market.
Fees are also rising for passengers checking more than two pieces of luggage, and more carriers are ditching free snacks to save money, said Tom Parsons, chief executive of travel site Bestfares.com.
“The airlines are jacking up rates wherever they think they can get away with it,” Parsons said. “From the airfares to the fuel surcharges to the peak travel day surcharges, there’s not much you can get from an airline these days other than a seat assignment.”
Discount carrier Southwest Airlines Co has made “modest” fare increases but has not imposed fuel surcharges and doesn’t plan to add incremental fees to offset fuel costs, spokeswoman Ashley Dillon said.
BYPASSING CHINA TARIFFS: In the first five months of this year, Foxconn sent US$4.4bn of iPhones to the US from India, compared with US$3.7bn in the whole of last year Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) from India went to the US between March and last month, customs data showed, far above last year’s average of 50 percent and a clear sign of Apple Inc’s efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show that Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to nations including the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. During March to last month, Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Ashton Hall’s morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall’s brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that is fantastic news. “We’re so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,” Saratoga owner Primo Brands Corp’s CEO Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall’s morning routine video went viral. “He really helped put our brand on the map.” Primo Brands, which was not affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday expressed a downbeat view about the prospects of humanoid robots, given high manufacturing costs and a lack of target customers. Despite rising demand and high expectations for humanoid robots, high research-and-development costs and uncertain profitability remain major concerns, Lam told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taoyuan. “Since it seems a bit unworthy to use such high-cost robots to do household chores, I believe robots designed for specific purposes would be more valuable and present a better business opportunity,” Lam said Instead of investing in humanoid robots, Quanta has opted to invest
RSS