Why Airline Shares Are Falling Today

The airlines got their initial bailout funds, but the stocks remained under pressure on Thursday after United Airlines Holdings (NASDAQ: UAL) offered a bleak assessment of how long it will take for traffic to recover and made it clear that management does not expect the stimulus funding to be enough to ward off layoffs.

United shares led the decliners on Thursday, down 9% as of 11:30 a.m., but the stock was hardly moving alone. Shares of Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), American Airlines Group (NASDAQ: AAL), Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV), Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK), JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU), Hawaiian Holdings (NASDAQ: HA), Allegiant Travel (NASDAQ: ALGT), and Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE) were all off more than 5%.

The airline industry has been hit harder than most by the COVID-19 pandemic, with demand for travel all but evaporating globally. The companies have responded by cutting flights and grounding planes, but few companies if any can survive indefinitely with no revenue coming through the door.

Source Fool.com