Welcome to our special travel edition!
If you enjoy traveling to far-flung locations but experience FONBO (fear of not being online, an acronym we just made up) in areas where service is spotty, Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey may have a solution for the texting part of that equation: Bitchat, his new Bluetooth-based messenger service that doesn’t rely on an internet connection, cell service, or even phone numbers. Here’s how it works.
Before we take off on our special travel journey, your captain would like to report on yesterday’s markets: the S&P 500 rose 0.6%, the Nasdaq 100 gained 0.7%, and the Russell 2000 advanced by 1.1% on Wednesday. Bitcoin reached a fresh record high for the first time since May, hitting a peak of 112,009.39, and Nvidia joined the $4 trillion market cap club, a league of its own.
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It’s widely reported that airlines are raking in more money off checked bags and pricey credit card fees and partnerships than they used to, but the biggest contributor to their revenue is still from the actual passengers who sit in those seats in the sky. But revenue is one thing and profit is another, and we were shocked by how little profit is made off actual passengers.
An analysis of company reports and data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics shows that between 2021 and 2024, the big four US airlines (Delta, United, American, and Southwest) earned approximately $5.51 in profit per passenger. That’s down sharply from 2016 to 2019, when the companies’ profit per passenger averaged $19.26.
Then, in the first quarter this year, as carriers reeled from tariffs and a decline in travel spending, the figure dropped to under a dollar. Of course, first quarters are also typically airlines’ least profitable, but look at those terrible trend lines!
It’s hard to lump all airlines together, though: |
- One expert said, “They could theoretically be losing money on some routes that they absolutely have to fly, or they could be making a ton of money because they have no competition there.”
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Airlines’ bottom lines can vary dramatically from year to year due to things like terminal construction costs, leases, fuel prices, and labor contracts.
- Tariffs have led Delta to yank its guidance even as it scored $2 billion from its American Express card in the first quarter alone, a 13% year-over-year rise.
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In any case, declining margins can shed light on why budget carriers have spent recent years un-budgeting themselves, adding premium seating categories, lounges, and, in Southwest’s case, ending some of their most popular cost-saving policies to rake in additional cash from fees. Checked luggage charges totaled $7.27 billion last year among the country’s largest airlines — up more than 26%, or $1.5 billion, from 2019. It’s been a rapid ascent for the revenue category, which Spirit introduced in the US less than 20 years ago, in 2007.
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These newer revenue streams have helped keep ticket prices relatively low for years, but that time may be ending. The shift away from the budget model and larger lack of competition in the industry could soon drive costs for consumers much higher. Since 2007, just two new scheduled passenger airlines have launched in the US. That’s the longest stretch of time in US aviation history with only two new airlines.
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Pacaso: 3 new cities on the horizon + Nasdaq ticker secured |
They have their sights set on adding homes in three new cities; Rome, Milan, and Florence. They even reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO.1 That’s how you follow a record-breaking 2024 — by strengthening your position even further.
At least that’s what Pacaso is doing. After setting records in Paris and London in 2024, they grew gross profits to $21.4M in 2024, increasing by 41% YoY.2
Now, the company is expanding its disruptive model even further. And with Coldwell Banker reporting 40% of wealthy Americans intend to buy a vacation home abroad within the next year, that’s a big deal. And for just $2.90 per share, you can share in their growth as an investor today.3 |
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