US airline stocks slide as weather disrupts holiday travel
It wasn't quite a white Christmas, but New York City was hit with its largest snowstorm in four years on Saturday, adding a nice festive touch to the holiday weekend.
However, while New Yorkers had fun in the snow, the storm ended up being a belated lump of coal for US airline companies.
Nearly 300 flights were canceled out of New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport, as well as New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport on Saturday.
Hundreds more flights out of those airports were delayed, according to FlightAware, a flight-data specialist.
On Monday, airline stocks took a hit for the holiday travel disruptions.JetBlue Airways Corporation (JBLU) was down 3.4%, United Airlines Holdings (UAL) slid 2.3%, and Delta Air Lines (DAL) and American Airlines Group (AAL) both fell 1.9%.
JetBlue had an especially rough go of it, canceling more than 390 flights on Friday and Saturday.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the three major airports, has forecast about 5.7 million passengers would travel through the hubs for holiday season between Dec. 22 and Jan. 4.
More than 1,600 flights were canceled across the Northeast in the United States due to the snow.
The government's Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said last week that this year's holiday travel season "may reach record passenger levels," with approximately 44.3 million travelers expected at the nation's airports between Dec. 19 and Jan. 4.
An uneven year for US airline companies
US airlines faced a challenging first half of the year, largely brought on by the economic uncertainty caused by President Trump's start-and-stop approach to his tariff policy.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian called it "uncharted, unprecedented uncertainty" after the airline withdrew its financial guidance during its second-quarter earnings in April.
But business has mostly stabilized for the industry as the impact of Trump's tariffs have thus far avoided the most dire predictions for the US economy.
In fact, Delta reported record revenue in its Q3 earnings and projected full-year adjusted earnings per share to reach $6, which was at the higher end of its previous guidance.
The company cited a 9% increase in revenue from its premium seats, and Delta has said that it expects sales of premium seats to overtake sales of regular cabin seats in 2026, which would be a first in its history.
As the top 10% of earners increasingly drive consumer spending growth in the US, airlines could begin ramping up their focus on premium ticket sales.
Even JetBlue, which has long been considered a low-cost carrier focused on domestic travel in the US, opened its first premium lounge at JFK Airport this month called BlueHouse.
JetBlue has been struggling with weakened domestic demand and operational headwinds, leaving the airline unprofitable for 2025. The company has been undergoing a massive cost-cutting and restructuring strategy called JetForward in an effort to turn around its business.
JetBlue's stock is down 42.4% for the year.