Brian Sumers

Airline passengers never know how good they have it until it's too late. Airfares are going up, and passengers are going to remember 2016-17 as the glory years for fare bargains. Of course, at the time, they didn't think so.

U.S. airlines got a little fat and happy when fuel prices were at historically low levels. Passengers loved it too, because prices on competitive routes came down. But that's ending now, and travelers should get used to the new normal.

You have to give Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly credit. Analysts are constantly prodding him to embrace tried-and-true approaches for generating ancillary revenue. For the most part, he resists. He doesn't want to mess with the airline's secret sauce.

There's no doubt U.S. airlines are spooked by higher oil prices. By historical levels, they're not that bad. But perhaps they're catching carriers by surprise.

U.S. bankruptcy law is more forgiving than in many countries, which is why many airlines have had multiple iterations. Now, eight years after filing for bankruptcy, Mesa Air Group again wants to be traded on public markets. Assuming it goes forward with an IPO, it'll be interesting to see if investors return.

Other than Southwest, Allegiant Air is the most consistently profitable airline in the United States. But given higher fuel prices and some recent negative press, how long will Allegiant's streak last? We're betting it continues for awhile.

JetBlue is doing its best to ensure its cost-cutting approach won't affect passengers. But on the periphery, the airline's customers might notice some differences as JetBlue tries to remove $300 million in non-fuel cost by 2020.

Airlines need more diversity at the senior leadership levels. But new JetBlue President and COO Joanna Geraghty would prefer to be known for more than her gender. That seems like a fair request, no? Let's see if she can fix the airline's on-time performance.

U.S. bankruptcy law is funny, right? Less than a decade ago, Mesa Air Group filed for bankruptcy and investors lost out. But now the airline, with the same CEO, wants investors to give it another chance. Will they bite? Or do they have long memories?

Norwegian Air CEO Bjorn Kjos doesn't care that some in Barcelona would prefer that the tourists stop coming. He can fill Boeing 787s at decent fares with Americans and Europeans who want to visit Spain. He has a business to run. Can we blame him for trying to maximize profits?