Friday, March 28, 2014

Think three-letter airport codes are tough to crack? meet airline stock symbols



Some visitors will remember last week's column on crazy airport terminal codes, by which Cleaning it once a to describe the logic behind strange ones like Chicago's O'Hare (ORD) and Sioux City, Iowa (SUX).


Stock exchange symbols could be just like odd.


Take Southwest Air carriers. The "bags fly free" discounter was in news reports now, because of its suggested purchase of AirTran -- and many individuals are without doubt conscious that around the New You are able to Stock Market (New york stock exchange),Southwest trades as
LUV
. Exactly what do they mean with that? Well, it is a jerk to Southwest's headquarters and residential airport terminal, Dallas' Love Area.


So why wouldn't you the stock ticker symbol
LOV
? Well, a business known as Spark Systems has already been using LOV also it type of is sensible, since Spark's "Website towns" are referred to as places where singles "connect." Ah, romance -- or, whatever.


Southwest, meanwhile, makes use of LUV, lavishing it on marketing items such as the "LUV hoodie" (just $29.99), as well as the airline's signature heart-formed swizzle stays.


Every other stock symbol oddities? Oh, yes.


For additional airline travel news and experience visit Rick's blog at: http://farecompare.com


Area Air carriers is yet another company which was tied to a unique stock symbol, MEH, which my online urban dictionary defines as "a verbal shrug from the shoulders." I'm not sure why the carrier's symbol wasn't CKY because of its notoriously warm and scrumptious baked goods but that is another mystery. Regardless of the situation, MEH disappeared, when Area was absorbed by Republic Air carriers in '09. Area survives like a brand only now that it's merged with Frontier, it'll disappear altogether the coming year.


The brand new Frontier, now trades as RJET for parent Republic.


In other merger news, U . s . and Continental will get together because the new and enhanced U . s . (along with the world's greatest air travel) and will also possess a new stock symbol by March. 1: UAL. That certainly beats United's current indication of UAUA, which always struck me as slightly redundant.


That new ticker symbol could also eliminate some geographic confusion for Continental, which trades as CAL and works underneath the air travel code of CO, despite the fact that it's based in Texas. Go figure.


Where do these symbols originate from? Based on the New york stock exchange, "in every marketplace, the New york stock exchange, the American Stock Market, yet others -- allocates symbols for businesses within its purview, working carefully to prevent duplication."


They clearly work carefully using the companies themselves. How else to describe Harley-Davidson's near-perfect stock indication of HOG? Or even the Molson Coors Brewing Company's wonderfully evocative symbol TAP.


More puzzling may be the symbol the piano artists at Steinway use: LVG. Quit? Steinway's website describes it by doing this: "Our symbol pays respect towards the German composer and pianist Ludwig van Mozart." A strange tribute, possibly, but without doubt sincere.


Frankly, no air carriers have anything so great, although Hawaiian trades as ', that could represent their pleasure over always topping individuals Dot promptly departure lists. Obviously, Honolulu plane tickets are hardly ever postponed by snow storms.


But it can be time the air carriers got a bit more creative using their stock symbols.


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