The airlines have been celebrating since Donald Trump was elected on November 5. Airline stocks have mostly risen on the anticipation that the second Trump administration will cut regulation. Airline executives are well aware that under the Biden Administration, potential mergers between Spirit and Frontier, and later between JetBlue and Spirit, were scuttled by scrutiny from the Justice Department.
An agreement between American and JetBlue, the Northeast Alliance, under which the two airlines coordinated some schedules in New York and Boston, was also deemed anticompetitive. Airlines believe the new administration may well look more favorably on airline mergers and partnerships. As Delta CEO Ed Bastian put it in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Trump is a “strong supporter of U.
S. airlines and U.S.
jobs.” In another potential positive for the airlines, Melius Research analyst Conor Cunningham told Barron’s that pro-business policies under Trump could “jolt forward” business travel activity in 2025. The full return of the bashful business traveler would bring additional dollar signs to the airlines, while the dollar itself has strengthened since the election, making overseas travel comparatively “cheaper.
” One company critical to the airline business has not been participating in the punchbowl—-Boeing. On November 15, Boeing (BA) stock reached a 52-week low at 140.29.
Financial losses, quality issues, a costly new contract with the Machinist.
