Airlines Take Off on Oil's Plunge (UAL, JBLU, LUV)

Few, if any, industries are affected as much by the price of oil than airline companies. Today, those companies are getting a major boost emanating from crude's drastic freefall. Starting on November 24th last year, crude oil jumped from $81 per barrel to its 52-week high of $114.825 on May 2nd. In that timeframe, airline companies were decimated. Shares of Southwest Airlines LUV dropped 17%, from $13.77 to $11.37. Shares of JetBlue Airways JBLU dropped 19% from $6.93 to $5.64. Shares of United Continental UAL dropped 21% from $29.25 to $23.17. Shares of Delta Air Lines DAL dropped 28% from $14.34 to $10.30. These companies are getting a much needed lift today, however, as crude futures have plummeted, currently down 9.9% from yesterday's close to $98.50. As a result, the stock of airline companies are surging and constantly setting new intraday highs. Shares of Southwest are currently trading up 2.2% from yesterday's close to $11.89. Shares of JetBlue are currently trading up 2.5% from yesterday's close to $6.04. Shares of United are currently trading up 7.5% from yesterday's close to $26.22. Shares of Delta Air Lines are currently trading up 8.3% from yesterday's close to $11.34.