Sector Snap: Airline Shares Rise

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Airline shares rose Wednesday afternoon after a morning decline, as oil prices fell and financial updates from some big carriers were received positively.

The Amex Airline Index rose 3.4 percent.

UAL Corp.'s United Airlines said passenger revenue could fall as much as 18.9 percent during the second quarter, but it also said costs (not counting some fuel hedges) fell nearly as fast. Its shares rose 30 cents, or 7.9 percent, to $4.12 in afternoon trading.

And Continental Airlines said it hopes to raise $390 million by selling notes backed by aircraft it owns or will buy soon. Assuming the deal goes through, Continental plans to use the money to pay for five new planes and refinance 12 others it bought in the late 1990s. Any sign of a thaw in the market for loans to airlines would be welcomed by airline investors.

Stifel Nicolaus airline analyst Hunter Keay wrote in a note on Tuesday, "we view this as a positive for CAL's liquidity and it shows the capital markets are willing to lend to CAL — clearly a major competitive advantage and a reflection of what we view as the company's strong balance sheet."