Airline stocks rise on strong earnings as FAA clears way for Boeing 737 Max 9 to return to service

Ines Ferré

Airline stocks rose on Thursday amid better-than-expected quarterly results and a green light from regulators to return 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 jets to service once each undergoes safety checks.

American Airlines (AAL) stock rose 8% after the company issued better-than-expected guidance for 2024 amid growing capacity domestically and internationally.

Southwest Airlines (LUV) rose temporarily on Thursday after the carrier posted record revenue for 2023 and fourth quarter profit above Wall Street expectations as bookings with less lead time and business travel performed better than expected in November and December.

Alaska Airlines (ALK) beat earnings estimates for its latest quarter while warning it will incur $150 million in costs stemming from the recent grounding of its Boeing 737 Max 9 fleet following a mid-air door “plug” incident in early January.

PORTLAND, OREGON - JANUARY 7: In this National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) handout, members of the NTSB examine the hole in the fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 Boeing 737-9 MAX on January 7, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. A door-sized section near the rear of the Boeing 737-9 MAX plane blew off 10 minutes after Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 took off from Portland, Oregon on January 5 on its way to Ontario, California. (Photo by NTSB via Getty Images)
Members of the NTSB examine the hole in the fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 Boeing 737-9 Max on Jan. 7, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (NTSB via Getty Images) (Handout via Getty Images)

Also a boost to stocks: On Wednesday the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved an inspection and maintenance process that must be performed on each of the grounded Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft.

"Upon successful completion, the aircraft will be eligible to return to service," read the FAA statement.

United (UAL) and Alaska Airlines are the only US operators that use those planes. On Thursday shares of both airlines rose more than 3%.

Alaska’s flight cancelations have totaled anywhere from 110 to 150 flights per day.

United Airlines aims to resume operating its Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft on Sunday.

During the company's earnings call this week, CFO Mike Leskinen said United has a total of 107 aircraft scheduled to be delivered in 2024 — 31 of those being Max 9 from Boeing.

"It is unrealistic at this time to believe all of those aircraft will deliver as currently planned," said Leskinen.

"We also expect a reduction in orders and deliveries from Boeing in 2025," he added.

Airlines stocks gained on Thursday on the heels of better than expected earnings, green-light from regulators to return to service Boeing 737 Max 9 jets once safety checks are performed.
Airlines stocks gained on Thursday on the heels of better-than-expected earnings and green light from regulators to return to service Boeing 737 Max 9 jets once safety checks are performed. (Yahoo Finance)

Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre.

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