STOCKCHASE

(A Top Pick Aug 13/10. Up 25.28%.) Took some money off the table when it went through $15 but still has half his position.

2011-07-08

DON'T BUY

15.080

Hap (Robert) Sneddon FCSI

West Jet versus Air Canada? Airlines is a lousy, lousy business. Has never owned any. Okay for short-term trading opportunities. If you must own airline, it should be West Jet as it is a quality company of the two.

2011-06-29

HOLD

15.580

May have penetrated its 2008 resistance level. Good upward trend line from 2008. If it breaks through, that is really, really positive. Recent lower oil prices will help the airlines. If you own, hold to see what happens. If it goes below the $14.50 level, he would probably put a stop/loss in there as it will probably head towards the $12 level.

2011-06-02

BUY

14.490

Steve Carlin

As they continue to penetrate the eastern Canadian triangle, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City with more regular flights, there is a terrific opportunity to steal market share. Expecting very good earnings growth.

2011-05-11

Comment

14.850

Brooke Thackray

Well run company and did very well on their earnings. Doesn’t like the airlines for the long term. They tend to do much better in the fall, September and October. If this stays above the $14.50-$15 level, that’s a good thing but if it breaks down below that he would be exiting.

2011-05-05

PAST TOP PICK

15.070

(A Top Pick Aug 13/10. Up 26.67%.) Easy money has been made.

2011-02-18

DON'T BUY

14.080

Jason Donville

If you are going to own an airline, it is probably a great one to own. At the end of the day, airlines are a tough business. So many other great investments out there.

2011-01-20

DON'T BUY

14.210

Benj Gallander

Doesn’t interest him. He bought into airlines after 9/11. He doesn’t know the financials that well. There is not an airline on his watch list at this point.

2011-01-04

PAST TOP PICK

12.880

Steve Carlin

(A Top Pick Oct 22/09. Up 11.81%.) Still likes.

2010-11-10

BUY

12.030

Hasn’t really moved. Young fleet of 91 planes with about 4.5 years average age, all 737's. Well managed. Southwest Air has bought Air Tran, which is positive for the industry as he expects much more consolidation. Fundamentally cheap.

2010-10-01

BUY on WEAKNESS

11.980

Jim Huang

Airline business is very cyclical and highly leveraged. Economy is currently doing better but investors are quite concerned with sustainability of the recovery and if they can manage capacity. Expects economy to continue doing better and Canadians flying more.

2010-09-30

TOP PICK

12.050

Fundamentally cheap. Sitting on cash and cash equivalents of $1.1 billion. 91 planes of 1 set of aircraft making it easier to run. Good management. Will benefit from a strong Cdn$. 29% of its costs are fuel, which is quite low now.

2010-08-13

BUY

12.390

Perhaps the youngest airline fleet in North America at 4.5 years. Operate one aircraft, 737 making it easier to maintain. Likes the new management. If they can make money now in the worst times, what is going to happen when things improve? Thinks they're set up for the next cycle.

2010-05-21

DON'T BUY

12.790

David Baskin

Has pretty good earnings going forward but in the long run nobody makes money from airline companies.

2010-05-10

TOP PICK

11.690

Jeff Parent B. Eng. FCSI

Fundamentals are not great so wouldn't buy from that point of view but chart is good. Stock took a drop when they raised some money this fall. Chart is showing a triangle pattern and if it breaks out, it should go to $15 at least. Sell if it drops below $10.90.

2009-12-04

TOP PICK

11.600

Steve Carlin

You will have to be patient. They are the best operator in Canada. Equity deal significantly improved their balance sheet and they will continue to steal market share from their biggest competitor.

2009-10-22

DON'T BUY

11.150

John Zechner

Wouldn’t own it. Would prefer other airlines.

2009-10-20

BUY

12.150

Nick Majendie

Airline business has been very difficult however this company stands out on a global basis in terms of its profitability. Well run. Has about 37% of the Canadian market currently and is going up. Long-term growth plans are excellent.

2009-08-27

DON'T BUY

11.420

Mike S. Newton, CIM FCSI

The whole airline carrier business is of no interest to him. Enjoys traveling with this company. Probably the best in its class. Can't imagine any airline that makes money.

2009-08-11

PAST TOP PICK

10.000

Greg A. Taylor, CFA, BBA

(A Top Pick July 22/08. Down 31.32%.) Had looked at this as an anti-oil trade. Expected $140 oil to pull back, which would improve margins.

2009-07-22

HOLD

9.990

Jim Huang

Well managed. Good balance sheet. Relatively low cost. Oil prices have gone up and will continue to do so and this is the challenge. Because of the economy, traffic will be down.

2009-07-16

BUY

10.640

If things are not as bad as we think and the energy sector has cooled down somewhat, this might not be a bad bet. It's a contrarian bet but sometimes the best thing to do is to be in places early where most people don't want to be.

2009-07-02

HOLD

12.880

(Market Call Minute.) If you are a long-term investor, this is a Buy. In the near term, it is a Hold.

2009-05-06

DON'T BUY

10.860

Rick Stuchberry

(Market Call Minute.) The problem with the transportation companies right now is that the load demand is going to be off.

2009-02-20

Comment

13.120

Jeff Parent B. Eng. FCSI

50-day moving average turned higher and is moving positive. 200-day moving average is still pointing negatively but decline is not as much as in November. If it stays above $13, the 50-day will cross the 200-day in about one month, which is when a lot of investors hit the Buy button. Will probably consolidate around here but, afterwards, could go into the $17 level. Use a $12 Stop.

2009-01-05

TOP PICK

10.010

Greg A. Taylor, CFA, BBA

Sold off dramatically on fears the economy was going to dry up and no one was going to fly again. Doesn't think this will happen. November load factors were strong. There is still a lot of growth. Fuel costs have dropped.

2008-12-08

TOP PICK

14.560

Greg A. Taylor, CFA, BBA

Perfect anti-oil trade. Good way to hedge your oil exposure. North American airlines have been crushed due to high oil prices. US airlines have been putting up decent numbers over the last few weeks and stocks have started to go up. Signed an interesting deal with Southwest Airlines, which should keep capacity fairly strong.

2008-07-22

DON'T BUY

12.650

Neil Wickham

Airline business has been terrible. This company has been a singular exception with its very sound business model. Whole industry is getting pretty hard hit by rising oil prices.

2008-07-14

DON'T BUY

13.320

Lyle Stein

This is a contrary play to oil. If you think oil is going down, buy an airline stock. This is probably one of the best Airline stocks in the business. He doesn't think oil will be going down. People's discretionary income to fly will hurt airlines.

2008-06-26

DON'T BUY

14.260

Colin Stewart

In this type of energy environment it is very risky to be in any airline. An industry that historically has not produced very high returns on capital.

2008-06-25

DON'T BUY

14.730

David Burrows

(Market Call Minute.) Great company. Great house in a bad neighbourhood. Stay away from because of energy price problem.

2008-05-22

Comment

16.010

Steve MacInnes

Have a very efficient fleet. They may slow the scale of their purchases down. Expect they will get connections with international carriers, which will help them. Management executes brilliantly.

2008-05-15

DON'T BUY

15.960

Paul Thornton

One of the few airlines that was a big winner a year ago but it just made another lower low, which is not a good sign. Pretty significantly off its highs. Would stay away from the airlines in general.

2008-05-07

Comment

17.030

Jeff Parent B. Eng. FCSI

Tricky stock to analyze because it is very jumpy. A positive note is that it hit a support level twice and the downward motion is consolidating towards a point. (Technical= a triangle) Has the potential to move up. There is some risk with this. Expects resistance at the $20 level. If it broke down through the $16 level, consider shorting.

2008-05-02

DON'T BUY

17.010

Michael Sprung

(Market Call Minute.) Very concerned on airline growth with the cost of fuel.

2008-04-30

DON'T BUY

17.010

Not a good time to be in the airline business. This is a fabulous airline to fly and when times are good, it's a great airline to own. With rising fuel costs and the economic slowdown there are some pretty big headwinds.

2008-04-30

DON'T BUY

16.200

Michael Sprung

Airlines are very difficult things for value investors like himself to invest in. Overall you are dealing with companies that have extremely large capital costs and extremely huge operating costs. Very much dependent on discretionary expenditures.

2008-04-15

DON'T BUY

16.780

(Market Call Minute.) Always hesitant to own airlines but this would be his favourite. With fuel prices continue to go up and the economy slowing down, this is the wrong time to own an airline.

2008-04-10

Comment

16.890

Don Lato

Has never found the airlines were one of the great business models. Not comfortable playing the cyclicality of airlines.

2008-04-09

VAGUE

18.730

Lyle Stein

One of Canada’s great companies. Phenomenal operating model. It’s trading around 10 times next years earnings. Cheap. Believes oil will stay around $100 which will hurt the airlines.

2008-03-28

HOLD

20.000

(Market Call Minute.) Very shrewd operator. Has done very well in the past in filling planes and making decent money.

2008-02-29

Comment

20.040

Brian Acker, CA

He has a model price of $26.87, a 34% positive differential. On any pullbacks to about $16.90 he would be a buyer. Could add a little bit to your portfolio at this price and add more if it dropped to $16.90. Balance sheet looks pretty good.

2008-02-27

TOP PICK

20.090

Best Airline in North America and it's cheap.

2008-02-25

TOP PICK

18.310

(A Top Pick May 7/07. Up 12.5%.) Still a table-pounding Buy. Limited competition. This is an airline that makes money. Very cheap.

2008-02-04

DON'T BUY

17.080

One of the best airlines around. Has 2 big headwinds. The price of oil, which could come down some but will probably stay relatively high. Also, there is a great economic sensitivity to airlines, especially among his most travelers.

2008-01-29

DON'T BUY

16.890

Bruce Campbell

Doesn't particularly like airlines. As an investment over the long term, they are too swingy and they don't have any control over fuel costs.

2008-01-23

DON'T BUY

17.810

(Market Call Minute.) Would be on the sidelines on this one.

2008-01-15

TOP PICK

22.200

(A Top Pick Nov 22/06. Up 42.7%.) Trading at 14X earnings. Fantastic fundamentals. There is a duopoly in the Canadian Airlines business.

2007-12-13

HOLD

19.260

(Market Call Minute) Have done a decent job this year. With a stronger Cdn$ he thinks there will be some fairly good loads on the planes.

2007-11-14

TOP PICK

19.830

(A Past Top Pick Nov of22/06. Up 42%.) One of the cheapest mid to large-cap stocks in Canada with a proven business model. Trades at about 13X next year's earnings.

2007-11-05

HOLD

18.420

Showing nice improvements in terms of loads on their aircraft. Feels the travel industry is going to get a bit of a boost here.

2007-10-12

HOLD

18.810

Has gone through a corrective period. Had an uptrend, which gets violated in April, but doesn't go down that much. Then went into a sideways trading pattern, which is very bullish. It has now broken out, so it is off and running. If you're thinking of buying, hope that it comes back down and tests.

2007-10-10

HOLD

18.810

2007-10-10

Comment

16.990

Gordon Higgins, CA, MBA

Had stellar numbers in August with their highest capacity numbers. It's at the top in Canada for their efficiencies. If you are concerned about recession, it will be the marginal player that does not hop on the plane, but right now very solid numbers. Pr

2007-09-12

TOP PICK

16.040

(A Top Pick Nov 22/06. Up 16.2%.) One of the few airlines that makes investment sense. They have built value with time. Low cost airline with non-unionized stock holdings workforce.

2007-09-04

PAST TOP PICK

15.000

(A Top Pick Sept 15/06. Up 45.7%.) Starting to get bullish congestion. Has started trading sideways. Would be out of it for the time being. Could be creating a base for an upward move.

2007-08-20

BUY

15.500

Michael Decter

Likes this airline. A very good alternate in Canada. Load factors have been very high lately. Adding routes and aircraft. Have a lot of room to grow.

2007-07-31

TOP PICK

16.680

High fuel costs are a bit of a dent for the airlines but is not concerned. This is the best airline in North America. Super cheap at 14 X this year's earnings and 10 X next.

2007-07-18

DON'T BUY

15.580

David Baskin

Airlines are selling out seats; load factors are rising and the industry is expanding worldwide. On the other hand, airlines have been a sinkhole for investors for decades. High fuel costs. Expects rising maintenance costs.

2007-06-19

SELL

16.100

Doesn't like the airline space. If they can't make tons of money here, when you can they?

2007-05-16

TOP PICK

16.530

(A Top Pick Nov 22/06. Up 18.3%.) Low-cost operator. Sustainable competitive advantage. Paying down debt. Good price.

2007-05-07

DON'T BUY

16.130

If you were going to buy an airline Westjet is good, however he doesn't buy airlines. They don't like airlines as investments.

2007-05-02

BUY

16.860

Kenneth P. Norquay, CMT

The stock is going up at the same time that the market is going up, which is a good sign. Went sideways for a while and now it is going up again.

2007-04-17

BUY

15.150

Ian Nakamoto

Really has a niche. Likes the culture of the company.

2007-03-29

TOP PICK

14.500

(A Top Pick Jan 4/07. Down 3.1%.) At these levels, it's a table-pounding Buy at 11 X 08 earnings per share. Would argue that it is the best airline in North America.

2007-03-01

BUY

15.020

David Cockfield

A very well managed company. We are in a period of growth in the airline industry. They have absorbed the fuel problems. There’s a whole generation of new and efficient jets coming out.

2007-02-23

HOLD

15.270

Michael Smedley

Friendly, wonderful airline to travel on. Doing very well and setting up new relationships.

2007-02-22

HOLD

15.600

Utilization of the planes are continuing to be strong.

2007-02-13

HOLD

14.990

Fuel prices are down and they didn't hedge their fuel. Looks pretty good.

2007-01-31

DON'T BUY

14.290

Doesn't feel that airlines are a place to be given the unpredictability of their earnings outlook based on energy prices, terrorist activities and disease. Far too risky for him.

2007-01-15

BUY

14.900

David Burrows

Airlines around the world have been performing much better than the market. Earnings revisions have been coming in to the upside. Trades at a significant discount to some of the US airlines.

2007-01-08

SELL

14.900

Kyle McKay

Had a dramatic increase of 40% off its lows, which is attributable to oil prices. The risk is to higher oil prices rather than lower.

2007-01-08

TOP PICK

14.760

(A Top Pick Nov 22/06. Up 10.5%.) Best airline in North America. Duopoly in Canada, making it very profitable. Just announced record load factors and should have great Q4.

2007-01-04

PAST TOP PICK

14.820

(A Top Pick Sept 15/06. Up 44%.) Took some money off the table.

2006-12-20

TOP PICK

13.700

The best airline in North America. Has a sustainable competitive advantage. Lowest cost in Canada. Undervalued.

2006-11-22

BUY

13.700

Michael Smedley

Airlines are very much in favour now. Still has room to move. Can be volatile.

2006-11-22

BUY

9.940

Has a stop loss at around $9.20. Target price at around $12

2006-10-02

TOP PICK

10.280

Fundamentally, the company is in good shape. Had a lot of support at its lows. Thinks it will be higher a year from now. Under owned and under appreciated.

2006-09-15

DON'T BUY

10.330

David Driscoll

Can understand anybody wanting to own the airlines. They don't generate free cash flow. Margins are very dicey. Capital costs can be very high.

2006-09-14

DON'T BUY

9.800

Veronika Hirsch

The only hope for this stock is if oil prices where to decline substantially. Haven't had a lot to cheer about. Missed their numbers.

2006-08-29

DON'T BUY

10.020

Laura Wallace

In the near term, airlines are going to experience some slowdown in the demand because of security. Generally speaking, she doesn't like the airlines business. Too capital intensive. If you own, hold on until the security business has settled down a bit before selling.

2006-08-21

DON'T BUY

9.960

Extremely well run. Airlines are subject to a lot of problems such as increased pricing on jet fuel and competition.

2006-08-09

DON'T BUY

10.260

Ross Healy

Would be nervous about any holding in this company. Balance sheet has been steadily weakening over the past couple of years.

2006-08-03

DON'T BUY

10.260

Reported good earnings, but the stock dropped. Airlines are a challenging sector to invest in. They should be bought when fuel costs are a lot lower and yields are higher.

2006-08-02

WEAK BUY

11.150

Neil Wickham

Not a fan of airlines. A bad move when they increased their costs by moving their eastern hub from the low landing costs of Hamilton to the highest in the world, Toronto. Fuel costs are also rising, but have been able to hedge theirs. Smart operators and run a very good business. In the short/medium term, stock should go higher.

2006-06-20

DON'T BUY

10.890

David Taylor, MBA, CFA

They are running the company beautifully. An enigma. Loads are up, runs are up and the oil price is killing them.

2006-06-14

DON'T BUY

11.200

Gordon Higgins, CA, MBA

The airline business is highly competitive, very volatile.

2006-06-07

BUY

11.720

Larry Berman CFA, CMT, CTA

Have done well even with high input costs. If the input costs back off, they should do even better. The chart is the kind of pattern that he likes with its downtrend, a rally back and another downtrend, but you don't make a new low.

2006-05-02

VAGUE

11.320

Kyle McKay

Westjet has great load factors, dramatic increase in capacity, as well as traffic. Yields have been doing well. Lawsuit is not affecting the stock.

2006-03-07

BUY

10.870

Brian Acker, CA

Earnings are going down, it looks like Air Canada has this guy's number. But all in all thinks "It would be a good bet for a trade"

2006-02-14

DON'T BUY

11.950

Short is the operative word. Down trends are pretty solid. Airlines not his favourite. Breaking some support today. Expect the stock will head back towards it lows of Nov/05.

2006-02-08

PAST TOP PICK

12.030

David Taylor, MBA, CFA

(A Top Pick Aug 29/05. Up 8%.) Had picked this as a contrary pick. Hurricane Katrina hit and jet fuel prices went through the roof. Great company, Great management, but fuel prices kill these guys.

2005-12-20

WEAK BUY

11.310

Bill MacLachlan

Air fare increases have not yet impacted their capacity. It has been very good for their earnings. His only concern is their continuing expansion and the idea that they are going to add more US routes. Good speculation, but not a good investment.

2005-11-04

DON'T BUY

9.380