Companies losing pricing power after years of unbridled spending

A FedEx worker delivers packages in New York, May 9, 2022. Andrew Kelly | Reuters After years of unbridled consumer spending on everything from home improvement to dream vacations, some companies are now finding the limits of their pricing power. Shipping giant FedEx last week said customers have shied away from speedier, pricier shipping options. … Read more

Southwest Airlines, pilots union reach labor deal

Southwest Airlines ranked as the second-best domestic airline, according to Bounce’s 2023 Airline Index. Aaronp/bauer-griffin | Gc Images | Getty Images Southwest Airlines and its pilots’ union have reached a new preliminary labor agreement, ending months of tense negotiations. Southwest is the last of the largest U.S. airlines to strike a deal that is set … Read more

Spirit Airlines offers buyouts to salaried employees

A Spirit Airlines plane takes off at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, June 1, 2023. Mario Tama | Getty Images Spirit Airlines is offering voluntary exit packages to salaried employees, the budget carrier’s latest cost-cutting measure as it expects financial strains to continue next year. The airline has been facing weak off-peak demand … Read more

Delta beefs up Austin flights in battle for fast-growing airport

Angel Di Bilio | iStock Editorial | Getty Images Delta Air Lines is adding more flights next year at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, in a bid to gain market share in one of the country’s fastest-growing airports. The carrier plans to add 11 nonstop flights from Austin in April, giving it almost 50 peak-day flights, the … Read more

Christmas meltdown ‘will never happen again’

Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan speaks as he is interviewed by CNBC outside the New York Stock Exchange on Dec. 9, 2021. Brendan McDermid | Reuters With the peak Christmas travel season just days away, Southwest Airlines‘ CEO vowed that the carrier will not have a repeat of last year’s meltdown that stranded thousands of … Read more

Southwest, pilots union near a preliminary labor deal

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 aircraft lands at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, May 7, 2023. Nicolas Economou | Nurphoto | Getty Images Southwest Airlines and its pilots union are closing in on a new contract that would raise pay for the carrier’s more than 11,000 aviators and end months of contentious … Read more

Alaska-Hawaiian airline merger faces Justice Department scrutiny

An Alaska Airlines aircraft flies past the U.S. Capitol before landing at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., January 24, 2022. Joshua Roberts | Reuters Alaska Air Group‘s executives spent months working on its plan to buy rival Hawaiian Airlines. The airlines’ leaders will now spend many more trying to convince regulators the acquisition … Read more