Seoul's betting big on K-pop's global pull, and it’s working. BTS’ Jin is fronting their latest tourism push, showing that K-pop’s influence isn’t just hype — it’s real economic power.
The level of profitability revealed in the latest BTS report is leaves the Big 3 U.S. airlines room to improve their in-flight products and passenger services, without breaking the bank. But they have achieved this profitability in large part by becoming better businesses. If they are to stay profitable when the next inevitable industry downturn comes, they will need to keep improving their retail models.
New York City has some of the nation's highest airfares, but the fourth quarter 2014 numbers show the rise of other business hubs like Houston was reflected in pricey ticket costs.
A small ray of sunshine for the big three legacy U.S. carriers engaging in a bloody Open Skies battle, although United and American probably aren't happy Southwest saw the most year-over-year passenger growth of any U.S. carrier.
Besides the seasonal factors, the macro picture is that U.S. airlines are cutting flights to improve efficiency, and that also means lower number of full time employees.
Frontier Airlines' restructuring was a drag on the low-cost carriers' job increases as Spirit, Virgin America and Allegiant all posted double-digit gains.