• Airline stocks tumble as economic concerns overshadow travel surge   

Excerpt from MSNBC

  • Airline stocks have dropped more than the broader market.
  • Spring and summer travel demand have surged despite higher fares.
  • Economic concerns from inflation and recession risk have weighed on airline stock prices.

Packed planes. Sky-high airfare. An end to Covid testing for international arrivals. So much is going in airlines' favor these days - except their share prices.

The sector's latest drop is surpassing a broad market swoon as investors weigh the chances of a recession and just how aggressive the Federal Reserve will get to tamp down the sharpest increase in consumer prices since the early 1980s.

American Airlines dropped 8.6% on Thursday, hitting the lowest price since November 2020. Southwest Airlines fell 6%, hitting a nearly two-year low. Delta Air Lines and United Airlines each shed more than 7%, while the NYSE Arca Airline Index, which tracks 18 carriers, lost more than 8%.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve lifted interest rates by three-quarters of percentage point, the biggest increase since 1994, in an effort to tame inflation.

"If you've flown on a plane lately, planes are very full and plane tickets are very expensive," Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday.

Strong travel demand following more than two years of the Covid-19 pandemic has been a boon to airlines, with Delta, United and American recently forecasting a return to profitability. Carriers' executives have said travelers have been digesting higher fares.

Airlines have been supply constrained. Delta, JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines, Alaska Airlines and others have cut summer flying plans to give themselves more wiggle room for routine disruptions and in some cases to address labor shortfalls.

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