Why Airline Shares Are Soaring Today

Many airline stocks have lost more than half of their value this year, as the COVID-19 pandemic has caused global air travel demand to evaporate and left carriers scrambling to cut costs to survive. The stocks have been trading as if bankruptcies were inevitable.

While the pandemic is far from contained, airline investors in recent days are beginning to gain confidence that the worst-case scenarios that have driven stocks to multiyear lows can be avoided.

Shares of American Airlines Group (NASDAQ: AAL), United Airlines Holdings (NASDAQ: UAL), Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU), Hawaiian Holdings (NASDAQ: HA), and Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE) all climbed more than 10% on Wednesday morning thanks to that growing sense of optimism.