Companies are releasing earnings left and right and not all of the news is good. Some of the companies that posted a loss in earnings or revenues today include:

Old Dominion: OD reported today that revenues had fallen 22.4% in the third quarter. The company said it was directly related to the drop in freight volume as well as a lot of competition in the industry. It reported a revenue of $322.8 million, in comparison to the $415.9 that the company saw in the third quarter 2008.

Earnings were $10.5 million for the third quarter or 28 cents per diluted share.

It reported a 14% drop in freight volume.

AT&T: Being a telecom giant doesn’t exempt you from some bad earnings news either I suppose. Regardless of a huge amount of iPhone sales, the company couldn’t manage to bring profits up from the same point last year. The stagnant earnings is thanks to the declines in voice, legacy data and print advertising products. The only thing that really kept the earnings from being a loss is the wireless division of the company.

AT&T did manage to post a $3.19 billion profit on a $30.85 billion revenue. However it is still now from $3.23 billion in profits and $31.34 billion in revenues.

UPS: Like other shipping companies, UPS is not doing as well as it once did. Revenues fell 15% and profits fell 43% due to customers shipping fewer packages. Net income for the company fell to $549 million, it was $970 million just one year ago. Revenue fell from $13.1 billion to $11.2 billion.

This can likely be attributed to the decline in packages sent. Shipping volume was down 2.4% from the same period last year.

“I’m encouraged by the signs of economic recovery that are becoming apparent, although we still have a long way to go,” UPS chairman and CEO Scott Davis said in the release. “Ongoing strategic investment has positioned UPS to capitalize on growth opportunities around the world.”

US Airways: US Airways posted a pretty big loss of $80 million for the third quarter. However, in the same period last year the airline managed to post a loss of $866 million, so it is doing a bit better this year than last even though it is still posting losses through the quarters.

“Our third-quarter financial results reflect the soft but improving economic environment,” says Chief Executive Doug Parker. “As we look out at the improving demand environment for both business and leisure travel, US Airways is in an excellent position to capitalize on the recovering economy.”

SunTrust Banks: SunTrust posted a $377.1 million loss for the third quarter. Most of the losses came from write offs on loans and other bad debts. To contrast, last year in the third quarter the company posted a $304.4 million income.

“Our third quarter bottom line results reflected the difficult operating environment for more traditional banks,” James M. Wells III, SunTrust Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said in a statement. “Continued recession-related earnings pressures included higher credit costs, softer fee income and generally weak loan demand, as consumers de-leverage and businesses pay down existing credit lines and defer investments.”

I don’t think anyone was a fan of the extra charges airlines were taking on to passengers’ fares. I still can’t believe an airline, which charges (usually) over $200 a ticket, would charge $15 for a checked bag…one checked bag.

U.S. Airways have said that the reason it is giving sodas away again is because of the economy and reduced fuel prices.

Well, at least it’s doing something.

I have also had nothing but wonderful experience with the airline. The only complaint I have is that seating is first come, first serve. However, it is still a small inconvenience when compared to the cost of traveling on a different airline.

We live closer to Memphis, TN which does not have a Southwest terminal in the airport. However, with other airlines charging more for fares and bag fees, it is cheaper to drive to Jackson, MS or Little Rock, AR to get to an airport that Southwest flies to than to fly on Delta, Northwest, American Airlines, etc…

I am getting tired of extremely small measures airlines are taking to cut costs. They are nickel and diming the consumer to death. Hopefully I never have to fly US Airways on a long trip and get thirsty. The next thing they’re going to do is charge to use the toilet. Ridiculous!

It doesn’t help that people are more and more unhappy with airline service. People are paying more for tickets and also having to pay for things that were always free like sodas and the first checked bag. I have never been a frequent flier. I’ve only really flown 5 times. I do look though. I mean, if we wanted to take a trip somewhere besides Memphis, St. Louis, Atlanta, or the Gulf Coast, we’d have to fly, because I’m not driving. We drove to Dallas in January and I promised Chris I would never drive that far again.

Airlines are talking about becoming more fuel efficient. They have a long journey ahead of them to find something that will get them off the ground though. It takes a lot of energy to keep a plane in the air. So good luck airlines.