Top Airline Stocks To Buy Right Now

Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL  ) turned heads last year when it announced that it was purchasing a refinery in Trainer, Pa., in order to hedge against high jet fuel refining premiums. Many energy industry experts were puzzled because refinery expert Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX  ) was planning to shut the refinery if it could not find a buyer. Analysts reasoned that if it was uneconomic for a seasoned refiner like Phillips 66 to operate the refinery, it made even less sense for a newcomer like Delta to run it.

However, I have been bullish about Delta's refinery acquisition since it was announced. As I wrote back in February, much of the criticism of the deal is based on myths rather than reality. The sharp jump in refining premiums last year hurt the profitability of all airlines, and there are no good financial instruments available for hedging jet fuel refining premiums; owning your own refinery is the only feasible way to do so. That said, the Trainer refinery logged yet another loss last quarter. Does that mean Delta's strategy has failed?

Top 5 Information Technology Stocks For 2016: American Airlines Group Inc (AAL)

American Airlines Group Inc., formerly AMR Corporation, incorporated in October 1982, operates in the airline industry. The Company's principal subsidiary is American Airlines, Inc. (American). As of December 31, 2011, American provided scheduled jet service to approximately 160 destinations throughout North America, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and Asia. AMR Eagle Holding Corporation (AMR Eagle), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, owns two regional airlines, which do business as American Eagle-American Eagle Airlines, Inc. and Executive Airlines, Inc. (collectively, the American Eagle carriers). American also contracts with an independently owned regional airline, which does business as AmericanConnection (the AmericanConnection carrier). As of December 31, 2011, AMR Eagle operated approximately 1,500 daily departures, offering scheduled passenger service to over 175 destinations in North America, Mexico and the Caribbean.

American, AMR Eagle and the AmericanConnection airline served more than 250 cities in approximately 50 countries with, on average, 3,400 daily flights and the combined network fleet numbered approximately 900 aircraft as of December 31, 2011. American Airlines is also a founding member of the oneworld alliance, which includes British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, LAN Airlines, Iberia, Qantas, JAL, Malev Hungarian, Mexicana, Royal Jordanian and S7 Airlines. Together, oneworld members serve 750 destinations in approximately 150 countries, with about 8,500 daily departures. American is also one of the scheduled air freight carriers in the world, providing a range of freight and mail services to shippers throughout its system onboard American's passenger fleet.

To improve access to each other's markets, American has established marketing relationships with other airlines and rail companies. As of December 31, 2011, American had marketing relationships with Air Berlin, Air Pacific, Air Tahiti Nui, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Cape Air, C! athay Pacific, China Eastern Airlines, Dragonair, Deutsche Bahn German Rail, EL AL, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Finnair, GOL, Gulf Air, Hawaiian Airlines, Iberia, Japan Airlines (JAL), Jet Airways, JetStar Airways, LAN (includes LAN Airlines, LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador and LAN Peru), Niki Airlines, Qantas Airways, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines, and Vietnam Airlines.

American has established the AAdvantage frequent flyer program (AAdvantage). AAdvantage members earn mileage credits by flying on American, American Eagle and the AmericanConnection carrier or by using services of other participants in the AAdvantage program. Mileage credits can be redeemed for free, discounted or upgraded travel on American, American Eagle or other participating airlines, or for other awards. American sells mileage credits and related services to other participants in the AAdvantage program. There are over 1,000 program participants, including a credit card issuer, hotels, car rental companies, and other products and services companies in the AAdvantage program. As of December 31, 2011, AAdvantage had approximately 69 million total members.

The Company competes with Alaska Airlines (Alaska), Delta Air Lines (Delta), Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways (JetBlue), Hawaiian Airlines, Southwest Airlines (Southwest) and AirTran Airways (Air Tran), Spirit Airlines, United Airlines (United) and Continental Airlines (Continental), US Airways and Virgin America Airlines.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  There’s been a lot of talk that investors are ready to shed their pessimistic views on airline stocks like Alaska Air (ALK) Delta Air Lines (DAL), United Continental Holdings (UAL) and American Airlines (AAL) and embrace them for the long term. The only problem: There’s no sign that they actually are.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of American Airlines (AAL) took flight leading up to its merger with US Airways. Is the ride about to get bumpier?

  Bloomberg

  Barclays’ David Fintzen and Isaac Husseini say American Airlines shares could start to feel more turbulence. They write:

  On the technical side, the stocks are historically volatile and prone to relative underperformance. Even the best performing emergence (LCC as old US air emerged from bankruptcy and closed the America West merger) saw 40% relative out-performance in the first months quickly wiped out, before seeing the shares recover 6-7 months post emergence and solidly out-perform peer airlines in the months following. [Delta Air Lines (DAL)], NWA and UAUA (the pre-merger United� all saw reasonably large post emergence sell-offs, ranging from ~10% ([Delta]), 20% (NWA) and the extreme of ~60% relative declines for UAUA.

  Also problematic for American Airlines are post-bankruptcy margins, which have tended to drop, and the timing of integration risks, which don’t typically emerge for a few months.

  Still, there is good news: American Airlines’ “extremely competitive cost structure.” Fintzen and Husseini write:

  [American Airlines] looks to emerge with a very sizable cost advantage over its largest competitor (12% lower all-in CASM versus [United Continental (UAL)]) and a more modest 2% advantage over [Delta]. Labor costs will escalate going forward ($400m+/yr per management comments), with old-US Airways labor moving to American rates, contractual raises and an eventual ��arity review�� Even including labor mark-up, we think [American Airlines] can sustain a cost advantage to both [United Continental] and [Delta] over the coming years. All that assumes [American Airlines] can contain cost pressures that come with the challenges of integration.

  Fintzen and Husseini started American Airlines with an Equal Weight rating, and a $30 price target.

  Share

• [By Jeanne Sahadi]

  CNN has calls into major U.S. airlines to see what approach they might take. United (UAL, Fortune 500), Southwest Airlines (LUV, Fortune 500) and American Airlines (AAL) declined to comment, referring to A4A's statement.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  If this is the year that airline stocks like United Continental Holdings (UAL), Delta Air Lines (DAL) and American Airlines (AAL) take off, JetBlue (JBLU) has been the exception that proves the rule.

Top Airline Stocks To Buy Right Now: JetBlue Airways Corporation(JBLU)

JetBlue Airways Corporation provides passenger air transportation services in the United States. As of December 31, 2011, it operated approximately 700 daily flights to 70 destinations in 22 states, Puerto Rico, and Mexico; and 12 countries in the Caribbean and Latin America through a fleet of 120 Airbus A320 aircraft and 49 EMBRAER 190 aircraft. The company, through its subsidiary, LiveTV, LLC, provides in-flight entertainment, voice communication, and data connectivity systems and services for commercial and general aviation aircraft, including live in-seat satellite television, digital satellite radio, wireless aircraft data link service, and cabin surveillance systems. JetBlue Airways Corporation was founded in 1998 and is based in Forest Hills, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jesse Solomon]

  The selling was broad based. JetBlue (JBLU)and Southwest (LUV) were down even though neither company has a big presence overseas.

  Of the U.S. airlines, United Continental (UAL) probably has the most exposure to Africa through its Star Alliance, according to Joe DeNardi, an airlines stock analyst at Stifel Nicolaus, but United's shares weren't any worse off than their large rivals American (AAL) and Delta (DAL).

• [By DAILYFINANCE]

  Lynne Sladky/AP WASHINGTON -- U.S. airlines scored their second best performance last year in the more than two decades that researchers have been measuring airline quality, with Virgin America the leader, says an annual report released Monday. The report ranked the 14 largest U.S. airlines based on on-time arrivals, mishandled bags, consumer complaints and passengers who were bought tickets but were turned away because flights were over booked. Airline performance in 2012 was the second highest in the 23 years that Wichita State University at Omaha in Nebraska and Purdue University in Indiana have tracked the performance of airlines. The airline's best year was 2011. Virgin America, headquartered in Burlingame, Calif., did the best job on baggage handling and had the second-lowest rate of passengers denied seats due to overbookings. United Airlines (UAL), whose consumer complaint rate nearly doubled last year, had the worst performance. United has merged with Continental Airlines, but has had rough spots in integrating the operations of the two carriers. The number of complaints consumers filed with the Department of Transportation overall surged by one-fifth last year to 11,445 complaints, up from 9,414 in 2011. "Over the 20 some year history we've looked at it, this is still the best time of airline performance we've ever seen," said Dean Headley, a business professor at Wichita State University in Kansas, who has co-written the annual report. The best year was 2011, which was only slightly better than last year, he said. Despite those improvements, it isn't surprising that passengers are getting grumpier, Headley said. Carriers keep shrinking the size of seats in order to stuff more people into planes. Empty middle seats that might provide a little more room have vanished. And more people who have bought tickets are being turned away because flights are overbooked. "The way airlines have taken 130-seat airplanes and expanded them to 150 seats to sque

Top Airline Stocks To Buy Right Now: Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYA)

Ryanair Holdings plc (Ryanair Holdings), is a holding company for Ryanair Limited (Ryanair). Ryanair operates a low-cost, scheduled-passenger airline serving short-haul, point-to-point routes between Ireland, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, and Morocco. As of June 30, 2012, the Company offered approximately over 1,500 scheduled short-haul flights per day serving approximately 160 airports largely throughout Europe with an operating fleet of 294 aircraft flying approximately 1,500 routes. Ryanair sells seats on a one-way basis. The Company also holds a 29.8% interest in Aer Lingus Group plc. As of June 30, 2012, Ryanair�� operating fleet was composed of 294 Boeing 737-800 aircraft, each having 189 seats. Ryanair�� fleet totaled 294 Boeing 737-800s at March 31, 2012. As of June 30, 2012, Ryanair owned and operated four Boeing 737-800 full flight simulators for pilot training. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Ryanair Holdings Plc (RYA), the discount airline operator that�� the second-biggest stock in Ireland�� ISEQ index, declined 1.7 percent to 7.23 euros in Dublin. Kerry Group, a supplier of food ingredients, sank 1.4 percent to 45.24 euros.

Top Airline Stocks To Buy Right Now: SkyWest Inc (SKYW)

SkyWest, Inc. (SkyWest), incorporated in 1972, through subsidiaries, SkyWest Airlines, Inc. (SkyWest Airlines) and ExpressJet Airlines, Inc. (ExpressJet) operates the regional airline in the United States. In addition, the Company provides ground handling services for other airlines throughout its system. The Company operates in two segments: SkyWest Airlines and ExpressJet. On December 31, 2011, its subsidiary, ExpressJet Airlines, Inc. (ExpressJet Delaware) was merged into its subsidiary, Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Inc. (Atlantic Southeast), with the surviving company named ExpressJet Airlines, Inc. (the ExpressJet Combination). ExpressJet includes the operations of Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Inc. (Atlantic Southeast) and ExpressJet Airlines, Inc. (ExpressJet Delaware), which is prior to the ExpressJet Combination.

As of December 31, 2011, SkyWest and ExpressJet offered scheduled passenger and air freight service with approximately 4,000 total daily departures to different destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. All of its flights are operated as Delta Connection, United Express, Continental Express, US Airways Express or Alaska under code-share arrangements with Delta, United Air Lines, Inc. (United), Continental Airlines, Inc. (Continental), US Airways Group, Inc. (US Airways) and Alaska Airlines (Alaska). As of December 31, 2011, its consolidated fleet consisted of a total of 732 aircraft, of which 443 were assigned to United and Continental, 268 were assigned to Delta, eight were in preparation for new code-share assignments, five were assigned to Alaska, four were subleased to affiliated entities, two were assigned to US Airways and two were subleased to unaffiliated entities. In addition, it provides electronic or paper copies of its filings free of charge upon request.

As of December 31, 2011, it operated two types of regional jet aircraft: the Bombardier Aerospace (Bombardier) regional jet, which include the 50-seat Bombardier CRJ20! 0 Regional Jet (the CRJ200), the 70-seat Bombardier CRJ700 Regional Jet (the CRJ700) and the 70-90-seat Bombardier CRJ900 Regional Jet (the CRJ900), and the 50-seat Embraer ERJ-145 regional jet (ERJ145). As of December 31, 2011, it also operated the 30-seat Embraer Brasilia EMB-120 turboprop (the Brasilia turboprop). During the year ended December 31, 2011, approximately 65.2% of the Company's aggregate capacity was operated under the United Express Agreements and Continental Express Agreement, approximately 33.6% was operated under the Delta Connection Agreements, approximately 0.9% was operated under the Alaska Capacity Purchase Agreement, approximately 0.1% was operated under the US Airways Express Agreement and approximately 0.2% was operated under a code-share agreement with AirTran Airways, Inc.

On November 17, 2011, SkyWest Airlines and US Airways entered into the SkyWest Airlines US Airways Express Agreement. As of December 31, 2011, SkyWest Airlines operated two CRJ200s under the SkyWest Airlines US Airways Express Agreement, flying a total of approximately ten US Airways Express flights per day between Phoenix and designated outlying destinations. On April 13, 2011, SkyWest Airlines and Alaska entered into the SkyWest Airlines Alaska Capacity Purchase Agreement. As of December 31, 2011, SkyWest Airlines operated five CRJ700s under the SkyWest Airlines Alaska Capacity Purchase Agreement, flying a total of approximately 30 Alaska flights per day between Seattle, Portland and designated outlying destinations.

As of December 31, 2011, SkyWest Airlines and ExpressJet scheduled the daily flights as Delta Connection carriers: 530 flights to or from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, 316 flights to or from Salt Lake City International Airport, 132 flights to or from Minneapolis International Airport, 94 flights to or from Memphis International Airport, 94 flights to or from Detroit International Airport and 8 flights to or from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Inte! rnational! Airport.. As of December 31, 2011, SkyWest Airlines scheduled 15 daily flights as an Alaska carrier to or from Portland International Airport and 15 daily flights as an Alaska carrier to or from Seattle International Airport. As of December 31, 2011, SkyWest Airlines scheduled ten daily flights as an US Airways Express carrier to or from Phoenix International Airport.

As of December 31, 2011, SkyWest Airlines and ExpressJet scheduled the daily flights as a United or Continental Express carrier: 572 flights to or from Houston International Airport, 486 flights to or from Chicago O'Hare International Airport, 412 flights to or from Denver International Airport, 306 flights to or from San Francisco International Airport, 284 flights to or from Los Angeles International Airport, 214 flights to or from Newark International Airport, 148 flights to or from Washington Dulles International Airport, 128 flights to or from Cleveland International Airport and 64 flights to or from other airports. As of December 31, 2011, it operated 17 CRJ200s for United under a pro-rate agreement. The Company also operated one CRJ200 under a pro-rate agreement with Delta, as of December 31, 2011.

SkyWest Airlines

SkyWest Airlines provides regional jet and turboprop service primarily located in the midwestern and western United States. SkyWest Airlines offered approximately 1,650 daily scheduled departures as of December 31, 2011, of which approximately 1,110 were United Express flights, 500 were Delta Connection flights, 30 were Alaksa-coded flights and 10 were US Airways Express flights. SkyWest Airlines' operations are conducted from hubs located in Chicago (O'Hare), Denver, Los Angeles, Houston, Portland, Seattle, Phoenix, San Francisco and Salt Lake City. SkyWest Airlines' fleet as of December 31, 2011 consisted of 21 CRJ900s, all of which were flown for Delta; 96 CRJ700s, of which 70 were flown for United, 21 were flown for Delta and five were flown for Alaska; 153 CRJ200s, of which 82 ! were flown! for United, 61 were flown for Delta, eight were in preparation for service under a code-share agreement with US Airways and two were flown for US Airways; and 45 Brasilia turboprops, of which 35 were flown for United and 10 were flown for Delta.

As of December 31, 2011, SkyWest Airlines was conducting its Delta Connection operations pursuant to the terms of an Amended and Restated Delta Connection Agreement, which obligates Delta to compensate SkyWest Airlines for its direct costs associated with operating Delta Connection flights, plus a payment based on block hours flown (the SkyWest Airlines Delta Connection Agreement). SkyWest Airlines' United code-share operations are conducted under a United Express Agreement, pursuant to which SkyWest Airlines is paid primarily on a fee-per-completed block hour and departure basis, plus a margin based on performance incentives (the SkyWest Airlines United Express Agreement). During December 31, 2011, SkyWest Airlines entered into code-share agreements with Alaska and US Airways, pursuant to which SkyWest Airlines is paid primarily on a fee-per-completed block hour and departure basis, plus a fixed margin per aircraft each month.

ExpressJet

ExpressJet provides regional jet service principally in the United States, primarily from hubs located in Atlanta, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago (O'Hare), Denver, Houston, Newark and Washington Dulles. ExpressJet offered more than 2,100 daily scheduled departures as of December 31, 2011, of which approximately 650 were Delta Connection flights and 1,450 were Continental Express or United Express flights. As of December 31, 2011, the combined fleet of ExpressJet consisted of 10 CRJ900s, which were flown for Delta, 46 CRJ700s,which were flown for Delta, 113 CRJ200s, 99 of, which were flown for Delta and 14 of, which were flown for United and 242 ERJ145s, which were flown for United or Continental.

Under the terms of a Second Amended and Restated Delta Connection Agreement exec! uted betw! een Delta and Atlantic Southeast and to, which ExpressJet is a party (the ExpressJet Delta Connection Agreement), Delta has agreed to compensate ExpressJet for its direct costs associated with operating Delta Connection flights, plus, if ExpressJet completes a certain minimum percentage of its Delta Connection flights, a specified margin on such costs. Under the ExpressJet Delta Connection Agreement, excess margins over certain percentages must be returned to or shared with Delta, depending on various conditions. ExpressJet's Continental and United code-share operations are conducted under a Capacity Purchase Agreement between ExpressJet and Continental (the Continental CPA) and two United Express Agreements between ExpressJet and United (collectively, the ExpressJet United Express Agreements), pursuant to, which ExpressJet is paid by Continental or United, as applicable, primarily on a fee-per-completed block hour and departure basis, plus a margin based on performance incentives.

The Company competes with Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation, American Airlines, Inc. Delta Air Lines, Inc. Compass Airlines, Alaska Air Group, Inc. Mesa Air Group, Inc., Pinnacle Airlines Corp., Republic Airways Holdings Inc. and Trans State Airlines, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Passenger airline operator�SkyWest (NASDAQ: SKYW  ) announced today its third-quarter dividend of $0.04 per share, the same rate it's paid since 2008.

• [By Asit Sharma]

  What a difference a mega-order makes! Recently, I discussed Embraer's (NYSE: ERJ  ) disappointing first quarter in light of its long-term prospects. At the time, I put forward that if Embraer could add another $1 billion-$2 billion in orders to its backlog, a missing puzzle piece would fall into place, making this company a persuasive investment candidate. Last week's announcement of a significant order from regional airline SkyWest, (NASDAQ: SKYW  ) , provides a $4.1 billion jigsaw cutout to complete Embraer's picture. �

• [By Paul Quintaro]

  Shares of Delta Air (NYSE: DAL) are down 3.6 percent at last check, shares of United Continental (NYSE: UAL) are down 3.8 percent, US Air (NYSE: LCC) shares down 2.8 percent, shares of Southwest (NYSE: LUV) down 2 percent, JetBlue (NASDAQ: JBLU) shares down 2 percent and shares of SkyWest (NASDAQ: SKYW) down nearly 4 percent.

• [By Alex Planes]

  This year has been one of big deals and big rumors for Embraer. Just a few days ago, the company announced a deal with American International Group's (NYSE: AIG  ) airplane leasing subsidiary for at least 50 jets and potentially up to 100, beginning in 2018. It's a multibillion-dollar deal that could be worth more than Embraer's entire trailing-12-month revenue stream. Embraer also has a deal with Republic Airways (NASDAQ: RJET  ) for at least 47 E-175 jets -- the first of which should be delivered around this time of year -- and potentially 47 more if the airline likes what it sees. Several major carriers are also looking to expand their fleet of regional jets, which is Embraer's specialty and thus also its great opportunity. SkyWest (NASDAQ: SKYW  ) is also committed to buying 40 of the E-175s�and could buy up to 140. Between these three deals, Embraer's backlog should swell considerably.

Top Airline Stocks To Buy Right Now: Southwest Airlines Co (LUV)

Southwest Airlines Co., incorporated on March 9, 1967, operates Southwest Airlines, a passenger airline, which provides scheduled air transportation in the United States. As of December 31, 2011, the Company was serving 72 cities in 37 states throughout the United States. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company added addition services in two new states and three new cities: Charleston, South Carolina; Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina; and Newark, New Jersey. Southwest provides point-to-point. On May 2, 2011, the Company acquired AirTran Holdings, Inc. (AirTran).

AirTran�� route system provides hub-and-spoke, rather than point-to-point, service, with approximately half of AirTran�� flights originating or terminating at its hub in Atlanta, Georgia. AirTran also serves a range of markets with non-stop service from bases of operation in Baltimore, Maryland; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Orlando, Florida. As of December 31, 2011, AirTran was serving 68 United States and near-international destinations, including San Juan, Puerto Rico; Cancun, Mexico; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Nassau, The Bahamas; Oranjestad, Aruba; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and Bermuda. As of January 31, 2012, AirTran served 65 destinations. During 2011, approximately 71% of Southwest�� customers flew non-stop, and Southwest�� average aircraft trip stage length was 664 miles with an average duration of approximately 1.8 hours.

As of December 31, 2011, Southwest offered 25 weekday roundtrips from Dallas Love Field to Houston Hobby, 13 weekday roundtrips from Phoenix to Las Vegas, 13 weekday roundtrips from Burbank to Oakland, and 12 weekday roundtrips from Los Angeles International to Oakland. Southwest offers connecting service opportunities from over 60 Southwest cities to different Volaris airports in Mexico including Aguascalientes, Guadalajara, Mexico City (MEX), Mexico City-Toluca (TLC), Morelia, and Zacatecas. The Company�� International Connect portal conducts two separate transac! tions: one with Southwest�� reservation system and one with Volaris�� reservation system.

Southwest bundles fares into three categories: Wanna Get Away, Anytime, and Business Select. Wanna Get Away fares are lowest fares. Business Select fares are refundable and changeable, and funds may be applied toward future travel on Southwest. Business Select fares also include additional perks, such as priority boarding, a frequent flyer point multiplier, priority security and ticket counter access in select airports, and one complimentary adult beverage coupon for the day of travel. The Company�� Internet Website, southwest.com, is the avenue for Southwest Customers to purchase tickets online. During 2011, southwest.com accounted for approximately 78% of all Southwest bookings. During 2011, approximately 84% of Southwest�� Passenger revenues came through its Website, including revenues from SWABIZ, the Company�� business travel reservation Web page.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matt Egan]

  Airline stocks, which have been big winners this year, descended as traders worry about potential travel repercussions. American Airlines (AAL), Delta Air Lines (DAL), JetBlue (JBLU) and Southwest (LUV) all dropped more than 3%. Cruise operators Carnival (CCL) and Royal Caribbean (RCL) also lost ground.

• [By Paul Quintaro]

  Shares of Delta Air (NYSE: DAL) are down 3.6 percent at last check, shares of United Continental (NYSE: UAL) are down 3.8 percent, US Air (NYSE: LCC) shares down 2.8 percent, shares of Southwest (NYSE: LUV) down 2 percent, JetBlue (NASDAQ: JBLU) shares down 2 percent and shares of SkyWest (NASDAQ: SKYW) down nearly 4 percent.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  LM Otero/AP DALLAS -- The federal government is suing Southwest Airlines (LUV) after failing to reach a settlement with the carrier over allegations that repairs to dozens of planes didn't meet safety standards. The Justice Department sued Southwest on Monday in federal district court in Washington state. The lawsuit seeks to enforce $12 million in civil penalties that the Federal Aviation Administration announced in late July. The government says that starting in 2006 Southwest hired a contractor to make extensive repairs on 44 planes to prevent the aluminum skin from cracking. The FAA says the contractor, Aviation Technical Services Inc. of Everett, Washington, failed to follow proper procedures. "We dispute the FAA's allegations and look forward to the opportunity to vigorously defend Southwest's record in a court of law," Southwest spokeswoman Brandy King said Monday night. The Southwest case is the second-largest penalty that the FAA has ever sought against an airline, behind only a $24.2 million case against American Airlines. Typically, airlines negotiate with the FAA to reduce the penalties. The FAA hit Southwest with $10.2 million in penalties in 2008, and that case was settled a year later for $7.5 million. The government's decision to sue Southwest barely three months after announcing the most recent penalty indicated the wide gap between the two sides. The most serious allegation in the current case involves replacement of parts of the fuselages on 44 planes. The FAA said Aviation Technical Services workers under Southwest's supervision put sealant under the new skin panels but didn't install all the rivets fast enough for the sealant to be most effective, which could create gaps for moisture to penetrate and cause corrosion. Dallas-based Southwest returned the planes to service in 2009 and kept flying some of them for months after the FAA warned the airline of the improper repairs, the FAA said. Regulators approved later repairs. Pass

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  2. Earnings surprises came from some big names.
  A number of well-known stocks were among the best and worst performers when it came to earnings surprises. On the positive side, Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV  ) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN  ) posted impressive results, while Dell (NASDAQ: DELL  ) weighed in with a negative surprise. For Southwest, eschewing the full extent of ancillary fees that most of its peers have imposed has held back profits somewhat, but higher fares and greater integration of its AirTran acquisition from two years ago helped the company. Amazon, meanwhile, saw revenue gains of more than 20% and earnings that nearly doubled expectations, but shareholders focused instead on decelerating sales guidance for the current quarter.