US: After years of record profits, airlines face turbulence in 2017
The US airline industry has enjoyed 3 straight years of surging profits and has poured much of that windfall into buying new planes, building swankier airport lounges and paying big dividends to investors. Although US airlines are expected to remain profitable in the near future, industry watchers say 2017 could mark the end of the industry’s financial nirvana. An expected increase in fuel and labour costs is likely to be the biggest source of turbulence, along with uncertainty about the effect that the incoming Trump administration might have on travel from Mexico and the Middle East to the US. As a result, airfares are more likely to rise this year, particularly for business travellers, experts say. But price hikes are not guaranteed because increasingly popular LCCs are sure to make larger carriers think twice before raising fares. <br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2017-01-18/general/us-after-years-of-record-profits-airlines-face-turbulence-in-2017
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US: After years of record profits, airlines face turbulence in 2017
The US airline industry has enjoyed 3 straight years of surging profits and has poured much of that windfall into buying new planes, building swankier airport lounges and paying big dividends to investors. Although US airlines are expected to remain profitable in the near future, industry watchers say 2017 could mark the end of the industry’s financial nirvana. An expected increase in fuel and labour costs is likely to be the biggest source of turbulence, along with uncertainty about the effect that the incoming Trump administration might have on travel from Mexico and the Middle East to the US. As a result, airfares are more likely to rise this year, particularly for business travellers, experts say. But price hikes are not guaranteed because increasingly popular LCCs are sure to make larger carriers think twice before raising fares. <br/>
