The airline industry has seen quite a shake-up in recent weeks. First, United Airlines (UAUA) and US Air (LCC) entered airline merger talks … again. Then the eruption of an Iceland volcano crippled the skies over Europe. And by the way, consumer spending is still taking a toll on carriers while all this is going on.
So how can you make sense of this mess in the airline industry? Are there actually any airline stocks to buy right now?
The short answer is yes. The longer answer is that domestic carriers are still largely bad news with the exception of Southwest (LUV) and United Airlines (UAUA), and the best airline stocks to buy are mostly in emerging markets like China and Latin America. China Eastern Airlines (CEA) and China Southern Airlines (ZNH) are two emerging market airline stocks to buy.
It’s no secret as to why foreign airlines are doing well. Business is booming in emerging markets like China and Brazil, and that means booming business travel both from companies located there and U.S. companies traveling to these regions to get a piece of the pie. Also, consumer spending is stronger in markets like Latin America and Asia even as U.S. air travelers are pinching their pennies.
Here’s a complete sector breakdown of 23 airline stocks to buy and sell:
| Symbol | Company Name | Market Cap (B) | Portfolio Grader Grade |
| AAI | AirTran Holdings Inc. | $0.8 | C – Hold |
| ALK | Alaska Air Group Inc. | $1.5 | A – Strong Buy |
| ALGT | Allegiant Travel Co. | $1.1 | D – Sell |
| AMR | AMR Corp. | $2.9 | D – Sell |
| CEA | China Eastern Airlines Corp. | $2.3 | B – Buy |
| ZNH | China Southern Airlines Co. | $3.8 | B – Buy |
| CAL | Continental Airlines Inc. | $3.2 | C – Hold |
| CPA | Copa Holdings S.A. | $2.5 | B – Buy |
| DAL | Delta Air Lines Inc. | $10.9 | C – Hold |
| XJT | ExpressJet Holdings Inc. | $0.1 | B – Buy |
| GOL | GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes | $1.5 | A – Strong Buy |
| GIA | Gulfstream International Group | $0.0 | F – Strong Sell |
| HA | Hawaiian Holdings Inc. | $0.4 | D – Sell |
| JBLU | JetBlue Airways Corp. | $1.9 | D – Sell |
| LFL | LAN Airlines S.A. | $6.2 | A – Strong buy |
| PNCL | Pinnacle Airlines Corp. | $0.1 | B – Buy |
| RJET | Republic Airways Holdings Inc. | $0.2 | D – Sell |
| RYAAY | Ryanair Holdings PLC | $8.7 | D – Sell |
| SKYW | SkyWest Inc. | $0.8 | D – Sell |
| LUV | Southwest Airlines Co. | $9.9 | B – Buy |
| TAM | TAM S/A | $1.8 | B – Buy |
| UAUA | UAL Corp. | $3.8 | B – Buy |
| LCC | US Airways Group Inc. | $1.2 | C – Hold |
About Portfolio Grader: Every Sunday, renowned growth stock adviser Louis Navellier runs a fundamental analysis on the top 5,000 Wall Street companies. Armed with this research, Navellier offers a rating for each company reflected as a simple letter grade, with A being “strong buy” and F being “strong sell.” Portfolio Grader’s stock data is free and open to the public, and can be accessed online here.
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