American Airlines applies to add flights to Brazil

South Florida Business Journal
Date: Monday, April 25, 2011, 2:35pm EDT

American Airlines has filed an application to add 10 flights from Miami to Brazil.

American's application with the U.S. Department of Transportation proposes to launch service to Manaus and increase the frequency to Brasilia and Belo Horizonte.

"If we are granted the use of these frequencies, we could begin flying as early as this coming December," said Will Ris, American's senior VP for government affairs, in a news release.

The expansion could be a good overall boost to South Florida businesses because many Brazilians use their nation's strong currency to go shopping when they are in South Florida.

Brazil's president reportedly wants to raise fees on overseas credit card purchases from 2.4 percent to 6.4 percent, as spending by Brazilians abroad jumped 38.5 percent in the first two months of the year.

Brazilians have been among the heaviest buyers of luxury condos in the region.

In an article in the April 22 edition of the South Florida Business Journal, Peter Zalewski, managing partner of Condo Vultures Realty, said Brazilians and Canadians were among the foreigners buying homes out of confidence created by the strength of their respective economies.

American wants to boost service from Miami to Brasilia, the nation's capital, from four times a week to daily, using 182-seat Boeing 757 ...

Fare Hike Narrows Loss at United

Zacks Equity Research, On Monday April 25, 2011, 1:00 pm EDT

The largest U.S. airline United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL - News) reported first quarter 2011 adjusted loss of 41 cents per share outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4 cents. Adjusted earnings showed a substantial 29.3% increase from a loss of 58 cents in the year-ago quarter. Despite higher fuel prices and capacity cuts, earnings improved on increased fares and extra fees.

Adjusted earnings exclude $77 million of special items pertaining to merger-related costs and other one-time charges.

Revenue

Total revenue climbed 10.8% year over year to $8.2 billion in the reported quarter and was ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8.195 billion driven by higher ticket prices and continued growth in ancillary revenue. On an annualized basis, Passenger, Cargo and Other revenues showed increases of 11.5%, 9.3% and 5.2%, respectively.

Airlines traffic, measured in revenue passenger miles, dropped 1% year over year while capacity or available seat miles grew 1.4%. Traffic slowed slightly in the first quarter due to lower demand caused by the March 11 disaster in Japan. Load factor (percentage of seats filled with passengers) declined 200 basis points year over year to 78%.

Airlines' New Motto: We've Got a Fee for That

By Sean Williams
April 25, 2011

Just in case you were worried that airlines were going to have a problem battling rising jet fuel prices, here's news for you that should set your mind at ease: They have a solution.

Apparently, the easiest way to remedy fuel prices that are rising faster than airlines can hedge against is to charge for everything -- and I mean everything!

If you look at the quartet of quarterly results that came out last week, you'll notice a not-so-surprising trend in that airlines that could easily pass along rising costs to customers fared considerably better in their bottom lines than those that could not.

Take JetBlue (Nasdaq: JBLU ) , for example. The low-cost regional carrier usually known for its competitive fares has had no choice recently but to raise flight prices. The company has also responded to fuel costs that rose by 35% in the most recent quarter versus the same quarter last year by tacking on an additional $5 charge to preferred seats with more leg room and for second checked bags. By booking more fees per flights, JetBlue was able to log a $0.01 per-share quarterly profit.

Some of its competitors were not as lucky. Many analysts expected the United Continental (NYSE: UAL ) merger would result in millions of dollars saved as the two companies integrated their fleets and reduced overhead expenses. Instead, the company was eaten alive by merger-related costs and rising fuel expenses. Fuel expenses amounted to 32% of United Continental's quarterly revenue, and even more worrisome the company has just 46% of its fuel hedged through the remainder of the year. In response to rising prices, the company plans to cut its expansion plans altogether.

Even traditional Wall Street darling Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV ) isn't immune from the suffering. Despite raising ticket prices and boosting revenue, nearly all of the company's gross profit was gobbled up by rising fuel costs.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK ) , which also reported quarterly results last week, may come out as the rosiest of the bunch. By carefully hedging most of its fuel costs, the company was actually able to book a derivatives profit! Even excluding those one-time gains, Alaska performed considerably better than expectations thanks in large part to controlled fuel costs and higher passenger load yields.

The lesson here is that an airline can still be successful even in a rapidly rising cost environment if it can pass along costs to customers and keep those customers flying. Alaska Airlines and JetBlue have done an exceptional job of this so far.

Slated to report next week are Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL ) and US Airways (NYSE: LCC ) , and let's just say I'm not nearly as optimistic about their outlooks as I was about the smaller regional providers Alaska and JetBlue. Unfortunately, these larger carriers lack the niches of smaller counterparts. This forces them to viciously compete for passengers and drive down profits. We'll see next week whether this dynamic holds.

Appreciating Music Education and All That Jazz

Jazz great Wynton Marsalis is featured in AFT’s “American Educator” report on the importance of music education.

by James Parks, Apr 25, 2011

April is Jazz Appreciation Month and AFT, one of the national co-sponsors of the observance, has developed a content-rich curriculum that includes the arts and music.

Rich resources from the AFT include ”The Neglected Muse: Why Music Is an Essential Liberal Art“ and an interview with jazz great Wynton Marsalis from AFT’s quartrly journal “American Educator” and an “American Teacher” magazine feature on the importance of instruction in the arts. View that article here.

AFT explains that Jazz Appreciation Month is celebrated in April for two reasons: First, April is near the end of the school year student jazz ensembles culminate year-long preparations and play at their best.

Second, April is also the birth month of a number of leading figures in jazz, including: Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Bessie Smith, Johnny Dodds, Billie Holiday, Charles Mingus, Lionel Hampton, Gerry Mulligan, Shorty Rogers, Tito Puente, and Herbie Hancock.

Jazz Appreciation Month is sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History with the support of the U.S. Congress, numerous federal agencies and departments, non-governmental organizations, including AFT, foundations and broadcasting networks.

Campaign Launched for Decent Work at Olympics, World Cup

by James Parks, Apr 25, 2011

For the first time in history, the world’s two biggest sports events—the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics—are being held in the same country, within two years of each other. This month, hundreds of workers and activists met in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, site of the events, to launch a campaign to ensure that all the workers involved in the construction of facilities and manufacturing of event products work under decent conditions.

The global Play Fair campaign includes several international trade union groups, such as the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the Global Union Federation for the Textiles, Leather and Garment industry (ITGLWF), the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI), and other groups, such as the Clean Clothes Campaign.

“It is paramount that the principles of the decent work agenda are applied during the works for the World Cup and Summer Olympics in Brazil,” said ITUC Deputy President Nair Goulart.

The construction works are already under way—such as the infrastructure projects—and the workers are already demanding better health and safety conditions as well as decent wages. This campaign is important to raise awareness in regards to the respect of the decent work agenda. Moreover, we should make sure a collective agreement can be reached at the national level in respect to the minimum standards of the ILO [International Labor Organization].

Representatives of the British Trade Union Council (TUC) said they developed strategies to keep the 2012 Olympics in London free of sweatshop labor. Said TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber.:

We have worked together, for instance, on a complaints mechanism covering supply chains. It is hard to establish world class labor standards in a world where exploitation is rife, but we hope that London 2012 represents a big step forward and that our Brazilian colleagues benefit from and build on our experience.

You can follow the campaign on the Decent Work Towards and Beyond World Cup 2014 web site.

Listen, House Republicans: Public Doesn’t Want Medicare Cut

by James Parks, Apr 25, 2011

If congressional Republicans were listening to the American public, they wouldn’t be pushing so hard to turn Medicare over to Big Insurance through a voucher program and slash Medicaid for seniors, children and people with disabilities.

A just-released Washington Post/ABC poll shows that more than three-fourths (78 percent) of Americans do not want Medicare cut to reduce the national debt, including 65 percent who are strongly opposed. This compares with just 21 percent who favor cutting the program.

Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) prefer keeping the Medicare system the way it is rather than replacing it with a fixed amount voucher to be used to purchase private health insurance.

This week you have a chance to make sure Congress hears your voice. On April 27 and 28 in more than 50 cities in 18 states, activists from the Strengthen Social Security, Don’t Cut It, coalition, which includes the AFL-CIO and the Alliance for Retired Americans, will hold events at congressional district offices to tell their lawmakers hands off Social Security and Medicare. Visit the Alliance here and the Strengthen Social Security coalition here to find an event near you.

If you can’t make to a rally or there isn’t one in your area, you join a virtual rally here. Spread the word via e-mail, Facebook, or Twitter.

Writing today on the Center for American Progress website, Ruy Teixeira says:

This (poll) can fairly be characterized as massive opposition. Conservatives, who appear to lack any policy common sense, might want to exert some political common sense and retreat from their assault on Medicare.

NFL players can go back to work _ for now

Apr 26, 6:20 AM EDT
By DAVE CAMPBELL
AP Sports Writer

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The NFL is a long way from playing football again - even if players are welcomed back to work with no lockout to stop them.

U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson granted the players' request for an injunction to lift the lockout on Monday, ending the NFL's work stoppage in its 45th day but prompting an immediate notice from the league that it will appeal.

And players? They were told to show up ready for work - or workouts - on Tuesday.

Bills safety George Wilson confirmed that the NFLPA emailed players after Nelson's ruling suggesting they show up at team facilities. He said players were told if they are denied access that teams would be in violation of the judge's ruling.

"We have received inquiry from a number of players and agents. We have simply responded and told them we don't see anything wrong with it," NFL Players Association spokesman George Atallah said in a text message to The Associated Press. "Players are organizing stuff on their own."

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said any player who shows up at team facilities will be allowed in and "treated courteously and with respect."

"As soon as Judge Nelson lifted the lockout this afternoon, a number of my teammates called and asked me if they could return to work," Browns linebacker Scott Fujita said. "Basically, I told them I don't see why not."

Others weren't ready to go that far.