Flight headed to Ft. Lauderdale makes emergency landing


TOLEDO, Ohio –

A flight heading from Fort Lauderdale made an emergency landing Thursday night.

The crew of Delta Airlines flight 312 from Detroit elected to divert to Toledo, Ohio, due to a smoky odor in the flight deck, airport officials said.

Officials said the flight landed without incident and taxied to the gate under its own power.

“Customers are being reaccommodated on another aircraft,” airport officials said in a statement. “Safety is always Delta’s top priority.”

No injuries were reported.

Employee stole $80K worth of airline tickets for family, friends, authorities say

A Lauderdale-by-the-Sea man is accused of stealing more than $80,000 from Delta Airlines, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.

lRelated Michael White Duarte
NewsMichael White DuarteSee all related

According to the arrest report filed in the case, Michael White-Duarte, 51, used his position as a Delta employee to issue plane tickets and flight upgrades to family and friends between 2011 and 2013.

White-Duarte was responsible for distributing non-cash incentives such as travel vouchers, complimentary airline tickets and travel upgrades to large corporate clients, the report stated.

Investigators said White-Duarte had signed documents acknowledging Delta’s policies and guidelines for issuing these incentives. He was not allowed to issue tickets that would result in personal gain for himself or family, friends and co-workers.

White-Duarte is accused of accessing Delta Airlines’ computer system using multiple passwords and conducting 65 transactions between February 2011 and November 2013.

He issued complimentary ticket vouchers worth $54,261, airline tickets worth $24,200 and travel upgrade certificates worth $2,100, totaling $80,561, the arrest report stated.

White-Duarte was arrested Monday and charged with grand theft. He was released from jail Tuesday on $5,000 bond, court records showed.

Copyright © 2014, Sun Sentinel

Ultimate Honeymoon Destinations

The honeymoon. Your first great adventure as a married couple.  A time to recover from the busyness of wedding preparations and to connect in a new way, free of responsibilities and time constraints.  A time to focus on one another, and your new life together.

Here at Luxury Travel Destinations, honeymoons are our specialty.  And finding the right honeymoon – and ultimate honeymoon destination and resort – for each couple is what I do best.

So with that said, these are four of my favorite resorts for honeymooners:

Ultimate resort to get away from it all: Four Seasons Bora Bora

Ultimate Honeymoon Destinations

Bora Bora is the best known of the French Polynesian Leeward islands, and is known for its tranquil beauty.  The Four Seasons Bora Bora is surrounded by sand-fringed islets and offers breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and Mount Otemanu from over-water, private bungalows and a state-of-the-art spa.

The Four Seasons boasts four exceptional restaurants, but my favorite dining experience there is the Sunset Restaurant and Bar, featuring fresh, delightful Asian cuisine.  You can also enjoy a stargazing cruise after your meal, complete with dessert, champagne and live music.

The Four Seasons resort is known for its exceptional service.  You can expect every need to be met with gracious Polynesian charm and a warm smile.

Ultimate eco-friendly resort: Banyan Tree Mayakoba, Riviera Maya

Ultimate Honeymoon Destination

 Located on the edge of the Mayan jungle, the Banyan Tree Mayakoba is the most sustainable 5-star resort on the shores of the Caribbean.  Beautifully designed to blend Mexican culture with Asian hospitality, its serene, verdant landscape features private, tranquil villas, freshwater lagoons, natural dunes and coral reefs.

The Sanctuary Pool Villa offers an idyllic space, with separate living and study pavilions, an outdoor dining area, a private, landscaped garden and your own heated swimming pool and outdoor whirlpool.

The resort has nine different dining options, but the restaurant Ixchel is my favorite.  Ixchel, meaning “Moon Goddess”, is Banyan Tree Mayakoba’s traditional trajinera, or dining boat.  The menu offers a combination of local and international cuisine, all while drifting among the moonlit canals and mangroves.

Aside from the breathtaking scenery, the Rainforest Spa is one of the reasons couples choose this resort.  Offering a wide compliment of services and treatments, the spa specializes in hydrotherapy.

Ultimate once-in-a-lifetime experience: Jade Mountain, St. Lucia

 ultimate honeymoon destinationsThe sanctuaries of Jade Mountain truly set it apart from any other resort.  15 ft. high ceilings, infinity pools and an open 4th wall, create a magical, transformative experience you will never forget.  There are no televisions, radio or telephones to distract from the natural beauty.

Jade Mountain also offers an exquisite Total Romance package, which includes everything you need plus the following activities; tours of a volcano, sulfur springs and diamond mineral baths, a scuba diving course for beginners or two dives for certified divers, ½ day jungle biking excursion in Anse Mamin Valley, and a ½ day sailing on a skippered resort yacht.

My favorite activities at the resort are the daytime and sunset sails on the resort yacht and the jazzy sunset cruise on the 60 ft. resort catamaran.

Ultimate resort for luxury: Eden Rock, St. Barths

Ultimate Honeymoon Destinations

The embodiment of French art-de-vivre, Eden Rock is in the heart of the Caribbean.  Known for its upscale shopping, active cultural calendar and celebrity sightings, St. Barths is an upscale escape that offers a plethora of the finest cuisine, art galleries and museums.

No two rooms and Eden Rock are alike.  Each is individually decorated and they range from exquisite rooms to gorgeously appointed beach cottages and secluded villas.  Each offers extravagant style and hospitality, with dedicated butler service around the clock.

A full range of beauty and spa treatments are brought to your own private room, for the ultimate in luxurious pampering.  Leisure activities and nautical sports will ensure the perfect balance of relaxation and entertainment.

Planning the ultimate honeymoon for couples is one of the things I enjoy most about being a travel professional.  So if any of these destinations seem like the right honeymoon option – or you just want to learn a little more about what other brides and grooms have experienced – give me a call.

 

Next month: More of my top honeymoon resorts

 

Delta flight diverted to Pittsburgh after smoke odor detected

Smoke forced a Delta Airlines flight to divert from Pittsburgh International Airport Saturday afternoon.

Flight 343 was headed from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to San Francisco.

Delta said there was a smoke odor in the plane’s rear galley.

The plane landed safely in Pittsburgh. After everything was examined, the plane started its way to California again.

Oil Producers In Pain But Airlines Gain As Oil Prices Hit A 4-Year Low

A Thanksgiving announcement from OPEC that it will not change its oil output target has produced two very divergent trends in early Black Friday trading: airline stocks are taking flight while oil producer names take cover as WTI crude and Brent crude prices hit multi-year lows. Shares of United Airlines, Delta Airlines and American Airlines are each up 5% or more, while Exxon Mobil and Chevron are down more than 3% in early Friday action.

The 12 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided in a Thursday meeting in Vienna that despite an oversupply of oil in the market and drastically declining oil prices, it would maintain its 30 million barrels of oil per day output target in the interest of restoring market equilibrium.

In remarks made to reporters after the meeting, OPEC Secretary General Abdalla El-Badri said that OPEC will maintain the 30 million barrels of oil per day production for the next six months and watch how the market behaves. If the market behaves unfavorably, OPEC says it will act accordingly.

Following OPEC’s statement on Thursday, Brent crude futures fell under $75 per barrel, their lowest levels since August of 2010. These declines have extended into early Friday trading, with Brent crude futures trading at $72.90 and WTI crude futures trading at $69.27, down 6% for the day and 23% year-over-year.

In a research note released Friday morning, Citi analyst Seth Kleinman said that this market reaction may start to focus the minds of petroleum ministries around the world but that it will take significant pain and panic for OPEC to take major action.

“The cartel was tasked with acting like a cartel and it couldn’t fulfill the task, though the task was akin to threading a needle during an earthquake: it needed to produce a cut that would be big enough to balance the oil market but would also be credible, that would address the light-sweet overhang in the Atlantic Basin all while tensions in the Middle East are at historic highs,” he wrote in response to Thursday’s meeting. “After years or inaction and producing basically flat out thanks to the rise of Chinese demand and myriad supply disruptions across the Middle East, expecting the organization to perform in such heroic form was always a stretch.”

By Citi’s estimate, the oil market has a 700,000 barrel-per-day oversupply right now, and this oversupply could increase to 1.3 million barrels of oil per day during the first half of 2015.

Not surprisingly, oil-related equities are tanking in the wake of OPEC’s statement and the Brent and WTI drops. Shares of Exxon Mobil opened $3 lower than their Wednesday close (markets were closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving) and are currently trading for a 3.4% decline. Competitor Chevron opened for Friday trading more than $4 below its Wednesday close and is currently trading for a 5% loss. Year-to-date Chevron is down 12.5% and Exxon is down 9.8%.

The big winners resulting from the pain in the oil industry are airline stocks, with airline names flying high in early Friday trading. Shares of American Airlines — which were up about 5% in pre-market activity – are surging 7.2% and have hit a new 52-week high. Year-to-date, the stock is up a whopping 91%, nearly doubling its value from the start of 2014. United Airlines is up 6.4% and has also hit a new 52-week high; year-to-date the stock is up almost 60%. And rounding out the trifecta is Delta Airlines, which like its peers has also set a new 52-week high and is up 5.7% in Friday trading; year-to-date, the stock is up 70%.

The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes, Copa Holdings, JetBlue Airways, Delta Airlines …

Over the past five trading days, headlines were dominated by the impressive October traffic data revealed by Latin American carrier, Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. (NYSE:GOLFree Report). However, the news on another Latin American company, Copa Holdings SA (NYSE:CPAFree Report) was not so promising. The company delivered soft revenues in the third quarter though earnings came above expectations.

JetBlue Airways Corporation’s (Nasdaq:JBLUFree Report) decision to charge its customers for checked baggage and squeeze seats in order to boost profit was another highlight of the period under consideration. Delta Airlines (NYSE:DALFree Report) was also in the news when it placed a $14 billion order to the Airbus Group for 50 widebody jets.

Major companies in the airline space such as American Airlines Group (Nasdaq:AALFree Report) and Delta Airlines have waived rebooking charges for customers booked on their flights for travel today (one of the busiest travel days historically) in anticipation of a storm targeting the East Coast. The storm, if it materializes will result in heavy snowfall in the area, spoiling travel plans on the eve of the Thanksgiving Day.

Overall, it was a mixed week for major airline stocks, with quite a few of them suffering losses over the last 5 trading days. However, the losses incurred were not half as drastic as the ones suffered by airline stocks throughout September and early October due to Ebola related worries.

In fact, airline stocks have rebounded nicely from the lean period aided by healthy earnings reports and weak oil prices (Read last to last week’s developments here: Airline Stock Roundup for Nov 19, 2014).

Recap of Most Important Stories of the Last Five Trading Days

1. Latin American company Copa Holdings delivered mixed results in the third quarter of 2014. While earnings (on an adjusted basis) surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate, revenues missed expectations. The top line was hurt by lower passenger revenue yields. Capacity reductions in Venezuela also weighed on the results (read more: Copa Holdings Q3 Earnings Top, Revenues Lag; Shares Slide).

2. Another Latin American carrier Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. was also in the news in the period under consideration when it reported impressive traffic statistics for the month of October on the back of strong demand. Revenue passenger kilometers increased 8% from the comparable year-ago period (read more: GOL Impresses with Strong Oct 2014 Traffic Numbers).

3. JetBlue Airways has announced that it will add bag fees and squeeze seats. The decision, which is believed to have been taken in a bid to bolster revenues going forward, was announced at the company’s Investor Day. Post-JetBlue’s decision, Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUVFree Report) is the only U.S.-based carrier to allow free check-in of a bag for all passengers (read more: JetBlue to Add Bag Fees, More Seats on Flights; Stock Rallies).

4. Delta Airlines has placed an order worth $14 billion to the Airbus Group for 50 widebody jets. Delta’s order comprises of 25 Airbus A350-900 aircraft and 25 advanced Airbus A330-900neo aircraft. The first A350 is expected to be delivered to Delta in the second quarter of 2017. A330neos will arrive in 2019 (read more:Delta Air Lines to Add Airbus A350-900 A330-900neo).

5. In order to enhance its in-flight entertainment offerings, United Airlines – the wholly owned subsidiary of United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE:UALFree Report) – has introduced a new application called United app. The offering allows fliers to access a wide range of movies and television shows through Wi-Fi-enabled mobile devices and laptops (read more: United Airlines App to Better In-Flight Entertainment Quotient).

6. American Airlines – the wholly-owned subsidiary of the American Airlines Group– will launch its a new daytime daily flight from Philadelphia International Airport to London Heathrow Airport on May 29, 2015. The new service, aimed to boost trans-Atlantic travel, is the second American Airlines flight in the route.  Delta Airlines has also announced its plans to launch a new Philadelphia-London service on Apr 7 next year (read more:American Airlines to Start Second Philadelphia-London Flight).

Performance      

The following table shows the price movements of the major airline players over the past 5 trading days and during the last 6 months: 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

As the chart above suggests, the share prices of quite a few major airline stocks were down over the past five trading sessions. Gol Linhas emerged as the biggest gainer among the major players in the airline industry, thanks to its strong October traffic data, with its share price rising 11.18%. Southwest Airlines witnessed the highest upside (48.86%) over the last six months compared to its peers.

Copa Holdings, which fell 7.13% during the 5-day period, was the biggest loser hurt by below-par third quarter results. The company also experienced the highest drop in share price (19.9%) over the last 6 months.

What’s Next in the Airline Biz?

Focus will remain on whether inclement weather will affect the lofty projections for the Thanksgiving holiday season. According to media reports, flight cancellations are on their way up due to the anticipated storm (Cato) in the northeastern states of the country.

With bad weather expected to play spoilsport as far as travel on the eve of the Thanksgiving Day is concerned, it would be interesting to see weather the forecast of trade organization, Airlines for America, holds true or not. The organization predicted that U.S. airlines will carry 1.5% more passengers in the Nov 21–Dec 2 period this year compared to last year.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The SP 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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Uber Backers See Enough Opportunity for $40 Billion Value

Uber Technologies Inc. investors
contend the car-booking service is worth as much as $40 billion
— more than Twitter (TWTR) Inc. and as much as Delta Airlines Inc.

While that’s a big valuation, it may be justified by the
size of the potential market and how richly other fast-growing
technology companies are being valued.

The five-year-old startup is close to raising a round of
financing that would value it between $35 billion and $40
billion, according to people familiar with the situation, who
asked not to be identified because the details are private.

If Uber completes the funding, it would more than double
its $17 billion value from a June financing round and top
companies such as Twitter Inc. or Hertz Global Holdings Inc.
Applying a price-sales multiple of 18 times to Uber’s valuation
— in line with Facebook Inc. and Twitter — would imply the
car-booking app was producing a little over $2 billion in
revenue, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“I don’t want to say it seems reasonable, but it makes
sense in the context of the greater market opportunity,” Sachin Shah, a special-situations and merger-arbitrage strategist at
Albert Fried Co., said in a phone interview. “Just think
about every car service, every taxi cab — not only in New York
City
but every major metropolitan city, not only in the U.S. but
in the whole world. Can they generate $2 billion of business
potentially? The answer is it seems that way.”

Mega Financing

The funding talks show that investors’ appetite for growth
wasn’t affected by the fallout from remarks made last week by
Senior Vice President Emil Michael about prying into
journalists’ private lives.

“Uber has done a lot of ill-considered things, but I still
wish I were its investor,” said David Cowan, a partner at
Bessemer Venture Partners.

T. Rowe Price Group Inc. is in discussions to be a new
investor and existing investor Fidelity Investments is also set
to participate in the funding, the people said.

“At this valuation, investors appear to be thinking that
when Uber goes public, it might be worth $80 billion to $100
billion,” said Anand Sanwal, chief executive officer of CB
Insights, a research firm in New York. “This type of mega-financing affords Uber a great deal of flexibility in terms of
when they might go public.”

That would also put Uber at about 1.5 times the
capitalization of microblogging service Twitter and at the same
size as Salesforce.com Inc. and Kraft Foods Group Inc. It would
dwarf car-rental company Hertz, which has a market
capitalization of $11 billion.

“The justification for that valuation can be made given
the financial characteristics and the growth profile,” said
James Cakmak, an analyst at Monness Crespi Hardt Co. “I don’t
know of any other company that’s growing at that pace.”

Record Valuation

Uber is seeking to raise at least $1 billion, the people
said. The financing hasn’t closed and the terms and investor
group may still change, one of the people said. T. Rowe Price
previously considered investing in Uber and may still end up
passing this time, two of the people said. Representatives for
Uber, T. Rowe and Fidelity declined to comment yesterday.

Already in June, Uber’s valuation was a record for a U.S.
technology startup in a direct investment round. That put it at
the front of a pack of elite U.S. technology startups that are
valued in the 11-digit range, including Airbnb Inc. and Dropbox
Inc.

Right Price?

Aswath Damodaran, a New York University finance professor
who published four books on corporate valuation, wrote in June
that Uber was overpriced at $17 billion. Reached by e-mail today
he referred to those blog posts, which “said everything I want
to say” until more data on Uber’s operations become available.

In June, Damodaran valued Uber’s assets at $5.9 billion,
basing the figure on optimistic assumptions about the taxi
industry’s growth and the company’s market share and
profitability. His annual revenue projections were based on
assumptions of a $100 billion taxi market worldwide, a 6 percent
annual growth rate and an Uber market share of no more than 10
percent.

High valuations are spreading internationally. In China,
smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp. is in talks for a funding round
that would value it at $40 billion to $50 billion, people
familiar with the matter have said.

Uber is raising more money to finance its international
expansion, people close to the situation said earlier this
month. The company, founded in 2009 by Garrett Camp and CEO
Travis Kalanick, has rolled out its car-booking services to more
than 220 cities worldwide.

Uber has run into controversies during its fast expansion,
including roiling established taxi and limousine industries and
facing regulatory hurdles. Some drivers for the service have
also complained about the company’s commission structure.

Last week, Uber introduced a rewards program for drivers
and hired law firm Hogan Lovells to conduct an internal review
on its data-privacy policies.

To contact the reporters on this story:
Serena Saitto in New York at
ssaitto@bloomberg.net;
Sonali Basak in New York at
sbasak7@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Pui-Wing Tam at
ptam13@bloomberg.net
Reed Stevenson, Stephen West

Airline Stock Roundup: Impressive Traffic at GOL, Mixed Bag Results at Copa

Over the past five trading days, headlines were dominated by the impressive October traffic data revealed by Latin American carrier, Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. (GOL). However, the news on another Latin American company, Copa Holdings SA (CPA) was not so promising. The company delivered soft revenues in the third quarter though earnings came above expectations.

JetBlue Airways Corporation’s (JBLU) decision to charge its customers for checked baggage and squeeze seats in order to boost profit was another highlight of the period under consideration. Delta Airlines (DAL) was also in the news when it placed a $14 billion order to the Airbus Group for 50 widebody jets.

Major companies in the airline space such as American Airlines Group (AAL) and Delta Airlines have waived rebooking charges for customers booked on their flights for travel today (one of the busiest travel days historically) in anticipation of a storm targeting the East Coast. The storm, if it materializes will result in heavy snowfall in the area, spoiling travel plans on the eve of the Thanksgiving Day.

Overall, it was a mixed week for major airline stocks, with quite a few of them suffering losses over the last 5 trading days. However, the losses incurred were not half as drastic as the ones suffered by airline stocks throughout September and early October due to Ebola related worries.

In fact, airline stocks have rebounded nicely from the lean period aided by healthy earnings reports and weak oil prices (Read last to last week’s developments here: Airline Stock Roundup for Nov 19, 2014).

Recap of Most Important Stories of the Last Five Trading Days

1. Latin American company Copa Holdings delivered mixed results in the third quarter of 2014. While earnings (on an adjusted basis) surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate, revenues missed expectations. The top line was hurt by lower passenger revenue yields. Capacity reductions in Venezuela also weighed on the results (read more: Copa Holdings Q3 Earnings Top, Revenues Lag; Shares Slide).

2. Another Latin American carrier Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. was also in the news in the period under consideration when it reported impressive traffic statistics for the month of October on the back of strong demand. Revenue passenger kilometers increased 8% from the comparable year-ago period (read more: GOL Impresses with Strong Oct 2014 Traffic Numbers).

3. JetBlue Airways has announced that it will add bag fees and squeeze seats. The decision, which is believed to have been taken in a bid to bolster revenues going forward, was announced at the company’s Investor Day. Post-JetBlue’s decision, Southwest Airlines (LUV) is the only U.S.-based carrier to allow free check-in of a bag for all passengers (read more: JetBlue to Add Bag Fees, More Seats on Flights; Stock Rallies).

4. Delta Airlines has placed an order worth $14 billion to the Airbus Group for 50 widebody jets. Delta’s order comprises of 25 Airbus A350-900 aircraft and 25 advanced Airbus A330-900neo aircraft. The first A350 is expected to be delivered to Delta in the second quarter of 2017. A330neos will arrive in 2019 (read more: Delta Air Lines to Add Airbus A350-900 A330-900neo).

5. In order to enhance its in-flight entertainment offerings, United Airlines – the wholly owned subsidiary of United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL) – has introduced a new application called United app. The offering allows fliers to access a wide range of movies and television shows through Wi-Fi-enabled mobile devices and laptops (read more: United Airlines App to Better In-Flight Entertainment Quotient).

6. American Airlines – the wholly-owned subsidiary of the American Airlines Group– will launch its a new daytime daily flight from Philadelphia International Airport to London Heathrow Airport on May 29, 2015. The new service, aimed to boost trans-Atlantic travel, is the second American Airlines flight in the route.  Delta Airlines has also announced its plans to launch a new Philadelphia-London service on Apr 7 next year (read more:American Airlines to Start Second Philadelphia-London Flight).

Performance      

The following table shows the price movements of the major airline players over the past 5 trading days and during the last 6 months:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the chart above suggests, the share prices of quite a few major airline stocks were down over the past five trading sessions. Gol Linhas emerged as the biggest gainer among the major players in the airline industry, thanks to its strong October traffic data, with its share price rising 11.18%. Southwest Airlines witnessed the highest upside (48.86%) over the last six months compared to its peers.

Copa Holdings, which fell 7.13% during the 5-day period, was the biggest loser hurt by below-par third quarter results. The company also experienced the highest drop in share price (19.9%) over the last 6 months.

What’s Next in the Airline Biz?

Focus will remain on whether inclement weather will affect the lofty projections for the Thanksgiving holiday season. According to media reports, flight cancellations are on their way up due to the anticipated storm (Cato) in the northeastern states of the country.

With bad weather expected to play spoilsport as far as travel on the eve of the Thanksgiving Day is concerned, it would be interesting to see weather the forecast of trade organization, Airlines for America, holds true or not. The organization predicted that U.S. airlines will carry 1.5% more passengers in the Nov 21–Dec 2 period this year compared to last year.
 

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