S&P 500
7,401.00
+0.91%
Dow Jones
49,665.70
+0.19%
Nasdaq 100
29,241.00
+2.43%
Russell 2000
2,860.88
+0.82%
FTSE 100
10,263.70
+0.48%
Nikkei 225
63,767.70
+2.68%

Transportation

The Eruption Epidemic: More Ash, More Cancelled Flights

Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
By Douglas A. McIntyre Published
Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Invalid Image
The Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland began to erupt again, grounding flights in the northern UK.  And there are fears that the nearby Katla volcano may be unstable. Airports around Europe may be shuttered again. That would mean that the $2 billion price tag airlines paid on the first severe eruption may not be over.

The Eyjafjallajokull caused carriers to look to their governments for financial supports.  Airlines also accused government officials of being too cautious in restricting flights. And, it also caused a concern that ongoing volcanic activity could periodically affect air travel in Europe for long time. Eruptions from the same volcano can go on for months. The last eruption of Eyjafjallajokull in 1821 lasted for more than two years.

The problem in the skies over Europe comes at a particularly difficult time, which has driven mergers like the recently announced marriage of UAL (NYSE: UAUA) and Continental (NYSE: CAL) Rising crude prices (oil trades just shy of $87) have caused a spike in jet fuel costs that contributed to losses at major airlines in the first quarter.

Volcanoes and fuel prices= more mergers.

–Douglas McIntyre

Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.

Continue Reading

Douglas A. McIntyre |

Airlines Fly From Ash To Oil Storms (Update)

US Airways breaks off merger talks with UAL Corp.  (Updated from MarketWatch at 10.50 AM EST) The IATA, the airline…

Douglas A. McIntyre |

Eyjafjallajokull Erupts Again, Closing More Airspace

The Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted off and on from 1821 to 1823, the last time it was active. So, it should come…

Alaska Volcano Eruption Called Danger to Commercial Airplanes
Douglas A. McIntyre |

Alaska Volcano Eruption Called Danger to Commercial Airplanes

Bogoslof Volcano erupted and sent debris far enough into the atmosphere to pose a danger to jet engines. Commercial and…

Douglas A. McIntyre |

Iceland Volcano Cloud Costs Airline Industry $200 Million A Day

From the IATA (International Air Transport Association), an estimate of what the Iceland volcano is costing the airline industry per…

Douglas A. McIntyre |

More Volcanic Ash Overspreads Europe

The ash problems aloft over Europe created by an Iceland volcano worsened as the cloud from the eruption began to wander. When…

Douglas A. McIntyre |

Volcano Costs To Airlines Reach $1.7 Billion, Some Carriers In Jeapordy

The cost of the Iceland volcanic eruption to airlines has reached $1.7 billion and it has risen at a rate…

Douglas A. McIntyre |

Is Southwest The Only Profitable Air Carrier? (LUV, CAL, AMR, DAL, NWA)

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) may be one of the few remaining profitable airlines.  The company posted earnings this morning…

This Is the Most Dangerous Volcano on the Planet
247patrick |

This Is the Most Dangerous Volcano on the Planet

Despite sometimes giving out warning signs, volcanic eruptions are unpredictable. Even relatively less explosive ones can cause significant damage and…

Lee Jackson |

3 Airline Stocks to Buy After Big Sell-Offs

While not hyper-bullish on the transportation sector, the UBS team does have three top pick airline stocks they recommend investors…

Top Gaining Stocks

Akamai
AKAM • Vol: 21,556,944
Micron Technology
MU • Vol: 65,135,624
Intel
INTC • Vol: 227,504,426
Monster Beverage
MNST • Vol: 15,284,847
Dell Technologies
DELL • Vol: 12,167,525

Top Losing Stocks

Mettler Toledo International
MTD • Vol: 539,266
Motorola Solutions
MSI • Vol: 3,101,643
Expedia
EXPE • Vol: 4,189,786
Coterra Energy
CTRA • Vol: 73,319,495
Fidelity National Information Services
FIS • Vol: 11,468,820