Delta and Northwest combined income

[Beetle007]

I was looking at the BTS.gov website today and noticed that Delta and Northwest have a combined net income greater than the rest of the air carrier industry combined. Delta and Northwest are the only airlines to have net income in the Billions for 2007.

Northwest net income for 2007 = 2,391,850,00 (i.e., 2.3 Billion)
Delta net income for 2007 = 1,902,570,00 (i.e., 1.9 Billion)

The next most profitable air carrier was Fed Ex with a net income for 2007 = 946,203,000 (i.e, 946.2 Million)

http://www.transtats.bts.gov/Fields.asp?Table_ID=295
Click the analysis tag for each category and you can see how your airline compares

 

[Sedona16]

I was looking at the BTS.gov website today and noticed that Delta and Northwest have a combined net income greater than the rest of the air carrier industry combined. Delta and Northwest are the only airlines to have net income in the Billions for 2007.

Northwest net income for 2007 = 2,391,850,00 (i.e., 2.3 Billion)
Delta net income for 2007 = 1,902,570,00 (i.e., 1.9 Billion)

The next most profitable air carrier was Fed Ex with a net income for 2007 = 946,203,000 (i.e, 946.2 Million)

http://www.transtats.bts.gov/Fields.asp?Table_ID=295
Click the analysis tag for each category and you can see how your airline compares

I did this (select "net income" analysis tab then select "airline ID" from pulldown tab then calculate) and it is as you say. Those numbers seem kind of high though. The "operating profit/loss seems a little closer to the numbers I remember. Combined though they did do very well considering where things have been.

 

[Beetle007]

Thanks for pointing that out. I forgot to mention that you have to filter by airline ID. Otherwise it just shows the industry totals.

If you look at each year you can see the numbers fluctuate greatly. It is easy to say an airline is highly profitable but you have to look at how much money they lost in the previous years I guess.

The operating profit is different than the net income because Delta and Northwest both have lots of non-operating income. I'm not sure where this money is coming from. Northwest has about 1.9 billion dollars of non-operating income. It is all a shell game.

 

[Sedona16]

Thanks for pointing that out. I forgot to mention that you have to sort by airline ID. You can also sort by year.

If you look at each year you can see the numbers fluctuate greatly. It is easy to say an airline is highly profitable but you have to look at how much money they lost in the previous years I guess.

The operating profit is different than the net income because Delta and Northwest both have lots of non-operating income. I'm not sure where this money is coming from. Northwest has about 1.9 billion dollars of non-operating income. It is all a shell game.

OK that would make sense. I wonder if all the contract maintenance Delta does falls outside of operating income. I know I have read that NWA has other money generating enterprises outside of the core airline operations so that might explain the net profit numbers as well.

 

[Beetle007]

I also wonder if Frequent Flyer programs or Leasing aircraft back to yourself count as non-operating income.

 

[Sedona16]

Found this as an NWA subsidiary:

MLT Inc. (MLT)
MLT Inc. is among the largest vacation wholesale companies in the United States. In addition to its Worry-Free Vacations charter program, MLT markets and supports NWA WorldVacations packages and offers leisure fares to several domestic and international destinations. WorldVacations features discounted scheduled air packages via Northwest Airlines and many other codeshare partners to destinations throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, Europe and Asia.

 

[Beetle007]

Here are some other companies involved in the NWA bankruptcy. Other than the airline, I'm not sure if any of them are included in the air carrier financials on BTS.gov:

NWA Fuel Services Corporation
Northwest Airlines Corporation
Northwest Airlines Holdings Corporation
NWA Inc.
Northwest Airlines, Inc.
Northwest Aerospace Training Corp
MILT Inc.
Northwest Airlines Cargo, Inc
Northwest Retail Sales, Inc
Montana Enterprises, Inc.
NW Red Baron LLC
Aircraft Foreign Sales, Inc
NWA Worldclub, Inc.

 

[Max Powers]

ONCE AGAIN THIS IS WHY PILOTS ARE PILOTS AND NOT WALL STREET INVESTORS.....do yourself a favor never get out of mutual funds.

Man the power power on the web board you can just feel it can't you!

 

[Beetle007]

Do you feel good when you post in all capital letters?
Pilots should have a basic understanding of airline economics. Otherwise it is the blind leading the blind.

Do you think there is something wrong with pilots trying to figure out how their companies are moving money around? I would rather learn than be ignorant. I guess you would prefer the latter.