Estratégias cancerosas de crescimento

No WSJ do passado dia 29 de Junho li "Cheaper Flights Help Spur Record Air Travel":

"More people were set to fly in the U.S. on Friday than ever before. That was also true on Sunday. And in late May.

...

Seven of the 10 busiest airtravel days in the history of the TSA happened between May 23 and June 27. Fliers reset the record again last Sunday, when just under three million passed through U.S. airports. The numbers are still climbing. More than 32 million people are projected to fly between Thursday and July 8, a 5.4% rise over last year's Independence Day holiday travel volumes, according to the TSA.

Air travel typically peaks around now, but this year's levels are unprecedented, fueled by cheaper airfares and the desire of many Americans to get away."

No mesmo WSJ mas no dia 27 de Junho tinha lido "Southwest Reduces Its Revenue Outlook":

"Southwest Airlines cut its revenue guidance for the current quarter, citing complexities in adapting to shifts in booking patterns.

The airline said Wednesday that it expects revenue per available seat mile to be down 4% to 4.5% in the June quarter. Southwest previously guided for the unit revenue measure to be down 1.5% to 3.5%.

...

Despite record numbers of passengers traveling this summer, several airlines are also facing lackluster profits. Analysts have said most carriers expanded too aggressively during the second quarter, weighing on fares, and high fuel and labor costs are eating into profit margins."

No mesmo WSJ mas no dia 25 de Junho tinha lido "Summer Travel Boom Fails to Lift Airlines":

"It is shaping up to be the busiest summer season ever in the U.S., and about as strong as 2019's in Europe, airport passenger data suggests. Yet U.S. airline stocks are down roughly 40% over five years, and European ones about 25%. And this isn't about capricious investors applying lower valuations to airlines as they rush into artificial-intelligence plays: Carriers are reporting much narrower profit margins.

Budget operators such as Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines offer the most painful examples. They used to be money-printing machines, and Wall Street believed they were poised to take market share from legacy players as the industry emerged from the Covid-19 crisis. Instead, they are struggling to stay airborne.

...

European budget powerhouse Ryanair is the exception. Its decisions to extensively hedge fuel costs and limit job cuts during the pandemic have proven prescient. It has been able to capture a lion's share of Europe's "basic economy" trips, particularly in sunny spots such as Italy, where its market share has risen from 27% to above 40%.

...

Since the pandemic, the real boom has been in "premium economy"offerings with extra space and amenities that no-frills operators don't usually provide. Full-service carriers, on the other hand, have invested heavily in them. This helps explain why Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, which refined the art of providing a premium experience, isn't doing as badly on the stock market as its peers.

So why aren't legacy airlines soaring? The catch is that the premium economy boom is partly replacing business-class travel,

...

The bigger issue, however, is that airlines forgot the lessons learned before the pandemic and have taken hot tourism demand as a signal to expand aggressively. For July, the scheduled supply of seats is running 8% and 0.4% ahead of 2019 levels in the U.S. and Europe respectively, according to Cirium Diio Mi.

Indeed, overcapacity is a bigger problem for U.S. airlines, which explains their worse performance. For example, American Airlines, which has long focused on price and range of destinations ahead of premium offerings, announced an ambitious intra-U.S. expansion in April. Its shares are down 19% this year."

Faz lembrar a notícia recente sobre as companhias de Rent-a-car em Portugal, "Rent-a-car: Preços do aluguer de carros caem até 30% por excesso de oferta".

Agora imaginem a mesma coisa nos hotéis, na restauração, ... Estratégias cancerosas de crescimento degeneram sempre nisto: muito trabalho e pouco retorno. The race to the bottom.