DAL, UAL, AAL Hit Winter Turbulence As Snowstorm Grounds US Flights — Analyst Warns Of ‘Particularly Damaging’ Disruption

Mass cancellations and delays rattle carriers as winter weather snarls travel and weighs on investor sentiment.

• Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that the Federal Aviation Administration reportedly needs two more days to fully recover from the airline disruptions.
• According to FlightAware, the total cancellations on Sunday within, into, or out of the United States were 11,617, and on Monday, 5,649.
• AJ Bell’s Danni Hewson said that the impact of the storms currently ravaging parts of the US has been particularly damaging for airlines.

A snowstorm has gripped several parts of the United States since late last week, leaving many Americans struggling with power outages and widespread flight cancellations, a disruption that pushed airline stocks to close in the red on Monday.

According to FlightAware, the total cancellations on Sunday within, into, or out of the United States were 11,617, and on Monday, 5,649. The delays on Monday within, into, or out of the United States were 7,469, compared to 6,153 seen on Sunday.

Shares of Delta Air Lines and American Airlines closed down nearly 1% while JetBlue stock was down nearly 4% on Monday. United Airlines and Southwest Airlines traded marginally higher.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, in an interview with CNBC, said the Federal Aviation Administration needs two more days to fully recover from airline disruptions caused by the winter storm. He added that they were expecting flights to return to normal on Wednesday.

Flight Cancelations

According to the National Weather Service, the winter storm will continue to impact the Northeast U.S. with heavy snow as it shifts away from the East Coast. Frigid temperatures will affect the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. this week, with numerous record lows forecast.

As of Monday, American Airlines canceled 1,397 flights, and Delta canceled 451. JetBlue had 394 cancellations while Southwest and United Airlines saw more than 300 flights canceled, according to FlightAware.

“It’s been a tough day for airline stocks on both sides of the Atlantic, with shares in U.S. carriers down significantly thanks to snowstorms grounding traffic,” said Danni Hewson, AJ Bell head of financial analysis. 

Hewson added that though travel has become more of a need than a want for many people, “airlines are hugely sensitive to disruption,” and the impact of the storms currently ravaging parts of the US has been “particularly damaging.”

How Are Stocktwits Users Reacting?

Sentiment on JetBlue dipped to ‘neutral’ from ‘bullish’ a week ago, with message volumes at ‘high’ levels, according to data from Stocktwits.

Retail sentiment on Delta and American Airlines was in the ‘bearish’ territory, while on United Airlines it was ‘extremely bearish’, and on Southwest Airlines it was ‘neutral.’

Shares of Delta have fallen marginally, American Airlines stock has declined 15%, and JetBlue shares are down over 15% in the last 12 months, while Southwest stock has gained 32% and United Airlines has seen a 1% jump.

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