Research Guides: Airline Industry: The Competition

Company Profiles

Carrier Snapshots
Data snapshots of air carriers with annual operating revenue over $20M. Updated monthly by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).

Company Analysis

Establish a baseline of information about a company by examining what the company says about itself on its website, in its annual report, SEC filings and press releases.

All U.S. public companies must file an annual report, Form 10-K, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In the “Business Overview” section of the 10-K, companies discuss their competitive environment. In the “MD&A” section, they discuss their financial condition and risk factors that might affect company performance.

Market Share

Market share data for the airline industry is calculated using RPK's or revenue per kilometer. This data is collected by the U.S. Department of Transportation for the industry as a whole and for individual airlines in their TranStats database.

Bloomberg features market share data for industries. Use the command BI <GO> to select an industry. Then choose “Market Share” from the left-hand menu. Bloomberg is available in the Subotnick Trading Center at Baruch.

Financial Analysis

World Airline Report
The July issue of Air Transport World features airline financials and rankings in their annual World Airline Report.
Air Carrier Financial Reports
Form 41 Financial Schedule consists of financial information on large U.S. certified air carriers--includes balance sheet, cash flow, employment, income statement, fuel cost and consumption, aircraft operating expenses, and operating expenses.
Airline financial data is filed with the BTS quarterly; traffic and employment numbers are filed monthly.

Wall Street Research

Financial analysts from banks or independent research firms examine the financial performance of industries and key public companies. They identify strategic issues as well as provide financial forecasts and investment advice.

Bloomberg Professional
After you have entered the ticker for the Equity you wish to analyze, enter the function code ANR for Analyst Recommendations or the function code BRC for analyst reports on that company.