Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Declined To Release Postings

No surprises here, given the sorry state of the nation's airlines. The Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics announced Monday the six largest network airlines, as a group, reported an operating loss margin of 6.3 percent in the second quarter of 2008... a reversal from the second quarter of 2007 when the group reported a 9.2 percent profit margin.

BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported four of the six reporting network carriers, most of the industry's largest carriers, reported an operating loss margin in the April-to-June period. Operating margin measures profit or loss as a percentage of the airline's total operating revenue.

Network carrier Alaska Airlines, and low-cost carrier Allegiant Airlines, both requested confidentiality for their second quarter financial reports.  The numbers are being withheld pending a decision on their motions.

The six reporting network carriers spent 30.6 percent of their operating expenses in the second quarter of 2008 on fuel, compared to 12.8 percent five years earlier in the second quarter of 2003.

Those airlines' attempts to offset those costs, by collecting more money from passengers, appear to have had middling results to date. The total industry collected $182.6 million in excess baggage fees in the second quarter of 2008, according to the BTS, up from $122.3 million in the first quarter and $113.0 million in the second quarter of 2007.

Those are startling jumps, certainly... but little more than a drop in the pan against skyrocketing fuel costs. It may also be a sign more passengers are opting to pack lighter, to avoid checked baggage fees.

The top three operating profits were reported by low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines, and regional carriers Comair and Atlantic Southeast Airlines. Network carriers American Airlines and US Airways, and low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines, reported the worst operating loss margins.

FMI: Read The Full BTS Release