Can airline investors finally put away their motion sickness bags? It's been a rocky few years for the sector. Even before the catastrophic events of 9/11 chased away potential passengers, it was already an industry in fiscal turmoil. Nimble low-cost competition from the likes of Southwest
While the skies aren't exactly clear these days, at least the turbulence has settled down long enough to allow investors the ability to unbuckle their seat belts and move about the cabin.
Yesterday, Continental
But Continental was able to actually grow its traffic -- and its average revenue per available seat mile -- despite the slight reduction in capacity. That's a great sign. Naturally, the small carriers are faring even better as AirTran
So maybe the coast isn't exactly clear for the debt-laden heavies. They still have to compete with the JetBlue mentality of putting out a quality product at a discounted fare. Some like Delta