Here's something you don't see every day: Delta Air Lines is planning to give away a billion dollars.
OK, the airline is not exactly "giving" the money away, but the airline's board has voted to institute a quarterly cash dividend payment and a $500 million share repurchase program. Together these moves are expected to return about $1 billion to shareholders over the next three years.
Historically, cash dividends in the airline industry have been less common than profits, if that's possible, so this is good news for DAL shareholders, who've already seen the value of their stock just about double in the last six months.
This not only confirms our assessment that Delta is doing something right; it also reflects well on the airline industry as a whole, which is not normally viewed as a safe haven for nest eggs.
In the words of Investor's Business Daily, Delta's initiatives stand as "a sign of how far airline balance sheets have rebounded over the last few years."
There's a story in the airline business, about as old as the airline business, that there are lots of ways to make money in the airline business: lease the plane, fly the plane, fuel the plane, own the plane -- just don't own the airline.
Maybe Delta's owners can finally put that one to rest.
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The travel industry took another small step toward sanity last week when the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) expanded its Pre-Check program to international markets for the first time.
This is an important step because it expands the utility and reach of the program, which offers the program's "known travelers" a quicker trip through airport security lines, with their shoes, belts, laptops and liquids in their usual places.
But it remains a small step because the program remains limited to the top five U.S. airlines and about 40 U.S. airports. And the international dimension, natch, is limited to "select" flights.
Still, it marks welcome progress toward the TSA's goal of adopting "innovative ways to securely move travelers more quickly through our airports."
We'll take it.
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Leaving aside the airline industry, the federal government's principal interface with the travel and tourism business has historically been through the Commerce Department. With that in mind, we welcome the news that President Obama wants Penny Pritzker to be the next secretary of commerce.
As most travel people know, the Pritzker family's diverse business interests include Hyatt Hotels and a sizeable stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., giving the nominee what U.S. Travel Association CEO Roger Dow called "a unique and direct relationship to the travel industry."
That means, for starters, nobody will have to set up a meeting to explain to the new secretary how the travel industry works.
Equally relevant is that, if confirmed, Pritzker's acclaimed ability to get things done and make things happen could only benefit a government department that has been under the direction of an acting secretary for 15 of the last 22 months.
Dow and others in the industry have welcomed the news and called for a quick confirmation by the Senate. We second the motion.