Sector Snap: Airline Shares Mostly Lower

ATLANTA (AP) — Airline shares were mostly lower Friday as oil prices took a breather and slid lower and the overall market declined.

Benchmark crude for July delivery fell 77 cents to $71.91 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the first time oil prices have fallen in several days.

In afternoon trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 24.63 to 8,795.55. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.19 to 945.08, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 10.26 points to 1,852.11.

The AMEX Airline Index was unchanged.

Alaska Air Group Inc., operator of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, said its board approved the buyback of up to $50 million of its common shares. The Seattle-based company said it will use cash for the repurchases. In 2007 and 2008, Alaska Air Group repurchased nearly $112 million of its common shares.

Elsewhere, the now-defunct Aloha Airlines Inc. and two Hawaii-based banks will pay more than $9 million into three Aloha employee pension funds.

Delta Air Lines Inc. shares fell 20 cents, or 3 percent, to $6.48. American Airlines parent AMR Corp. rose 3 cents to $4.62, and United Airlines parent UAL Corp. fell 22 cents, or 5.4 percent, to $3.90.

Continental Airlines Inc. shares fell 6 cents to $9.19. US Airways Group Inc. shares rose 12 cents, or 4.5 percent, to $2.79.

Southwest Airlines Co. shares gained 2 cents at $6.66. JetBlue Airways Corp. fell 5 cents to $4.21, and AirTran Airways parent AirTran Holdings Inc. fell 8 cents to $5.40.