8 Best Airline Stocks Of April 2024 (2024)

The largest of the domestic airline carriers, Delta is also a leader when it comes to valuation, with an attractive forward price-to-earnings, or P/E, ratio of just 5.9. The airline industry has fully recovered from pandemic-related pressures, and it has impressed investors lately with its 2024 outlook. As proof, every analyst that covers DAL stock currently ranks it as a “buy” or “strong buy.”

And perhaps most importantly, in the wake of the incident in which a Boeing 737-9 MAX plane experienced an in-air crisis, Delta does not list this specific model as one of its fleet options. Therefore, the airline will avoid potential disruptions as a result.

Performance over the last 12 months has been quite volatile, as has been the norm for its peers in the airline industry. However, the stock is up strongly from a 52-week low, which is around $30 set in late October 2023.

Although it’s at the higher end of the valuation range, Ireland-based Ryanair can justify that pricier metric thanks to its recent stellar performance. The company is up sharply over the last three months thanks to a stronger-than-expected holiday travel season and minimal disruption from the recent conflict in the Middle East.

Specifically, Ryanair increased its earnings guidance in November with a high-end target that is more than 50% higher than the prior fiscal year. That increased outlook, coupled with continued passenger growth, is a great sign for investors. RYAAY stock ended 2023 with a strong tailwind for performance in the year ahead.

United Airlines is one of the most attractive airlines out there from a valuation perspective, as it currently trades for less than 4 times future earnings. That’s not just a deep discount to the market-wide average, which is just over 23 for the broader index, it’s also significantly lower than its peers in the industry.

Admittedly, UAL has been under a bit more pressure as it does employ the 737-9 MAX in its fleet. That fact coupled with some winter storms in January have caused short-term trouble for the stock. But the valuation metrics show a lot of that negativity has been priced in, so bargain-hunting investors may be interested in looking beyond the short-term headlines.

AAL stock really took it on the chin last fall, thanks in part to an October earnings report in which it lowered its full-year forecasts. That came on the heels of news that American Airlines reached an agreement with its pilots that totaled $10 billion across the next four years.

But the good news is that the agreement provides certainty—and avoids costly disruptions from strikes—for the coming year. Furthermore, the negativity of 2023 now seems priced in thanks to its attractive valuation and recent strong performance.

There is always uncertainty in the airline industry, but more modest expectations coupled with a four-year labor deal should provide some confidence for investors in the near term.

While Alaska Air was among one of the best-performing airline stocks over the last year or two, shares have taken a tumble recently in the wake of news that the carrier is looking to merge with peer Hawaiian Airlines–and the subsequent announcement just a few weeks later by parent Hawaiian Holdings (HA) that the company was courting other offers.

The approximately $2 billion deal would be a shot in the arm for smaller carrier ALK, which is looking to compete with its larger peers on both routes and cost structure. Making matters worse is that the recent JetBlue-Spirit merger was vetoed, calling into doubt any plans for other carriers to combine operations.

There is uncertainty around these big plans, but the underlying valuation and debt position of ALK remains strong compared with its peers, so there could be reason to bank on this airline stock without 100% certainty around its long-term corporate structure.

Panama-based Copa Holdings is perhaps the least recognizable name on this list. But with a return of more than double the S&P 500 through the first half of 2023, CPA stock is certainly worth paying attention to.

This mid-sized carrier offers more than 300 daily flights to about 80 destinations in more than 30 countries across North, Central and South America. And while most U.S. investors have kept their attention on domestic consumer spending trends, the regional recovery of Latin America may provide a decent growth alternative.

Another lesser-known airline stock is Wheels Up Experience, a private aviation services company that offers charter flights, fleet management and sales. It operates about 1,500 aircraft, primarily Citation business jets that seat about a dozen passengers.

The big risk factor is that this startup is not currently profitable as it operates at a small loss per share. But its forecasts for growth are impressive, including guidance for positive adjusted earnings in 2024 thanks to impressive revenue increases along the way.

Shares are volatile, but they’re also quite cheap at just a few dollars a share. What’s more, the company has seen a huge increase in investor interest recently. If you prefer a more aggressive play to the established and major carriers on this list, UP is an interesting alternative airline stock.

An indirect play on airline operations, SkyWest has a unique business model. The company leases regional jet aircraft and related services to third parties. Right now, SKYW has partnerships with United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines. It was responsible for carrying over 40 million passengers for these firms and others in 2022.

As with other industries, an investment in partners and related vendors is often the quickest way to get exposure to positive trends in the airline industry. After all, it takes a long time for carriers to directly ramp up hiring and fleets, but they can simply throw more cash at a company like SkyWest to meet near-term demand.

That can mean harder times for SKYW stock as carriers cut back, but the investment outlook for 2024 is very strong. SkyWest is forecasting more than 14% sales growth in 2024. More importantly, EPS is expected to increase more than 700% as the industry hits its stride.