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Bank of America pointed to a strong upturn in airline bookings data that backs up the positive tone heard from carriers with their traffic and guidance updates.
The firm said system net sales stepped up significantly to -15.4% compared to 2019 for the week ending March 13 vs. -25.4% compared to 2019 in the week prior. That is on the narrowest gaps to the pre-pandemic level of airline bookings.
"Further, domestic leisure volumes and pricing are above 2019 levels, and for the first time since the pandemic, corporate bookings through smaller channels crossed above 2019 levels. Near term, the demand environment remains very strong and appears to be exceeding supply for the first time in over two years.
As for international bookings, analyst Andrew Didora and team said the situation in Russia-Ukraine has had a minimal impact on international bookings. The firm still expects a robust demand to Europe this summer.
JetBlue (JBLU) and Allegiant Travel (ALGT) were called out by BofA for seeing big jumps in website visits, which is seen as a leading indicator of booking strength.
U.S. carriers: American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL), Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV), United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL), JetBlue (JBLU), Hawaiian Holdings (HA), Alaska Air Group (ALK), Allegiant Travel (ALGT), Spirit Airlines (SAVE), Mesa Airlines (MESA), SkyWest (SKYW), Sun Country Airlines (SNCY), Frontier Group (ULCC).
European carriers: British Airways (OTCPK:ICAGY), easyJet (OTCPK:EJTTF), Ryanair (RYAAY) Deutsche Lufthansa (OTCQX:DLAKF, OTCQX:DLAKY), Air France-KLM (OTCPK:AFRAF), SAS Group, Jet2 (OTCPK:DRTGF), Virgin Atlantic, Wizz Air (OTCPK:WZZAF), Aeroflot (OTCPK:AERZY), Finnair (OTCPK:FNNNF), Norwegian Air (OTCPK:NWARF), Air Berlin (OTCPK:AIBEF).
Despite the strong read on demand, airline stocks fell on Monday in early trading led by a 2.97% drop for Delta Air Lines (DAL) and 3.78% decline for United Airlines (UAL).
See the list of the top-rated airline stocks by Seeking Alpha Quant Rating.