Why U.S. Airlines Should Ignore Shareholders Now for Long-Term Innovation

Now that they are reliably profitable, U.S. airlines should spend on passenger experience, while improving reliability, reducing costs, investing in technology, and implementing tax-avoidance strategies, professional services firm PwC said in a report released Thursday. Many of the recommendations represent new territory for U.S carriers, as most have spent much of the past decade merely trying to survive. But consolidation has lead to sustained profits, and though some carriers now struggle with how to maintain revenues as fares fall, the good times should continue for the foreseeable future, so long as fuel prices do not spike. The PwC report urges airlines to