Airlines' Stocks Tumble After Alaska's Flat Forecast

Royal Caribbean canceled two back-to-back cruises with less than a week's notice — leaving many travelers scrambling to make alternative travel arrangements.

Three U.S. airlines on Wednesday warned of higher fuel costs in the third quarter due to a jump in crude prices, adding to pressures the industry faces from expensive labor contracts.

Traditionally, Alaska cruises have been seven days in length—either a weeklong loop of the Inside Passage roundtrip from Seattle or Vancouver, or a similar transit across the Gulf of Alaska sailing one way between Vancouver and Seward or Whittier.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kelese Richardson, the local vice president for Alaska AFA LAX and an Alaska Airlines flight attendant. It has been edited for length and clarity.

If you’ve ever been crammed into an uncomfortable coach seat, been charged extra for a bag, or had a flight delayed for no good reason, you know how much the airline you fly can impact your trip.

In 2021, the Pretty Rocks Landslide on Denali Park Road in Alaska shut off the only driving route to the old mining town of Kantisha. The closure is predicted to continue until 2026, cutting off access on the iconic 92-mile road in Denali National Park. This means that Kantishna, previously a popular destination for day visitors to the park, is now only accessible by air. It takes a helicopter over the glaciers, braided rivers, and multi-colored mountain peaks with America’s tallest mountain, Denali, in the background. In short, it’s become an exclusive destination that only a small percentage of visitors have a chance to access.

For my first trip to Alaska this summer, I decided to forego the typical cruise and instead stayed at Tordrillo Mountain Lodge. The all-inclusive wilderness resort is located 60 miles northwest of Anchorage and accessible only by ski plane. 

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There is a shortage of a critical skilled labor group needed to keep America’s airlines flying: Pilots, particularly captains, are in short supply and that’s resulting in fewer flights to some of the smallest cities across the country.

The deadly wildfires on the island of Maui are likely to affect visitor — and airline — demand to the island for the “foreseeable future,” analysts at T.D. Cowen said Friday.

The U.S. Transportation Department (USDOT) said it planned to seek higher penalties for airlines and others that broke consumer protection rules, saying they were necessary to deter future violations.

Executives from the venture capital arms of three large travel companies — JetBlue, Alaska Airlines, and Amadeus — each shared details with Skift about what they are focused on in 2023 and going forward.