Aviation: The Survivor Airline

AS LABOR UNREST AND THE PRICE OF OIL BATTER THE MAJOR CARRIERS, A LITTLE AIRLINE IN ORLANDO SLOWLY TAKES FLIGHT

It seems abnormal that the CEO of an airline that buys oil by the tanker and will burn through 250 million gal. this year alone isn't complaining too much about the record high price of fuel. But in fact, Joe Leonard, head of low-cost carrier AirTran Airways, thinks a few weeks of $66-per-bbl. oil would bring an overdue shake-out in the struggling airline business. "High oil prices are going to force some carriers out of the market," he says, "and it's going to happen quickly." You can almost see him smile, since AirTran won't be one of those grounded.

The fallout...

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