Airliners Up on Merger Talk - (UAUA) and (LCC)

Shares of U.S. airlines rose on on growing sentiment the economy may be on the mend and that the airline industry is poised for mergers, the New York Times and Reuters reported today.

The Arca airline index (XAL) rose 3 percent. Shares of United Airlines parent UAL Corp. (NASDAQ: UAUA) rose 6.9 percent to $18.34 on Nasdaq.

"My guess on UAL is that the market is pricing in the potential for a merger," said Morningstar airline analyst Basili Alukos. He noted comments made by airline executives last week at the Reuters Travel and Leisure Summit.

The chief financial officers for UAL Corp and US Airways Group (NYSE: LCC) told Reuters they were open to mergers. The probability of consolidation was echoed a day later by the president of the Air Line Pilots Association.