Air Charter

Airlines value premium travelers above other customers, letting them board first, eat a meal, and order a cocktail without whipping out a credit card. Many of them are business travelers who fly frequently and often pay higher last-minute fares than the jeans-and-T-shirt crowd on the way to see grandma. Anyone who questions why airlines treat business travelers nicely only needs to look at the carriers’ third-quarter financial reports. On Wednesday, American Airlines parent AMR Corp. reported that it lost $359 million in the third quarter, and Continental Airlines Inc. posted an $18 million loss. (more…)