American Airlines Group (NASDAQ: AAL) raised its guidance for the recently completed quarter, and the whole aviation sector is taking flight. Shares of American are up as much as 6.8% on Thursday morning, with shares of JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU) and Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE) up about 3% apiece during this time frame.

We knew the airports were packed over the holiday season. If American is any guide, that translated to better-than-expected financial results as well. In a regulatory filing, American said it expects fourth-quarter adjusted earnings to come in at between $1.12 and $1.17 per share, significantly above its prior guidance for between $0.50 and $0.70 per share in earnings. Analysts had expected $0.60 per share in earnings.

The airline also said it expects revenue to be up 16% to 17% compared to the pre-pandemic fourth quarter of 2019, up from previous guidance, for an increase of 11% to 13%. That is despite flying fewer miles in the last three months than it did in the fourth quarter of 2019.

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Source Fool.com