Barclays on U.S. Airlines: Capacity Tracking 11/15/2011

Barclays on U.S. Airlines: Capacity Tracking 11/15/2011 by Gary Chase

Chase said, "Over the last few weeks, schedules pointed to material 4Q11 domestic capacity reductions in Chicago. The reductions are driven by United Continental (NYSE: UAL) and other carriers that collectively control more than 90% of Chicago's domestic capacity. Our analysis shows that the largest cuts by UAL are in markets that AMR Corp (NYSE: AMR) serves as well. We expect the reduced capacity in Chicago to be beneficial for UAL as well as AMR."

"Changes in Overall Capacity: This week's schedules were quiet. Adjustments to schedules in the near months were limited to minor revisions of 10-20 bps. On an industry level, the net changes were minimal as well. November and October capacity are unchanged, while January's international capacity is increased by 10 bps. 1Q12 schedules continue to point to international capacity growth of 1.5% and domestic capacity reduction of (0.5)%, resulting in flat system capacity."

"What Changed This Week: Changes to schedules for the next three months were minimal this week. AMR adds 10-20 bps to its international capacity in December and January. JetBlue (Nasdaq: JBLU) also adds 10 bps to its international capacity in January."

---

GET THE HOTTEST RESEARCH CALLS ON THE STREET- FREE TRIAL!