Airlines Soar Following Q4 Results From Southwest Airlines, Alaska Air Group

Airline stocks soared Thursday following strong Q4 results from Southwest Airlines Co LUV and Alaska Air Group, Inc. ALK.

Southwest Airlines and Alaska Air both beat on revenue and EPS. Southwest estimated that Q1 economic fuel costs would result in approximately $500 million in year-over-year fuel cost savings for the first quarter alone.

In December, Deutsche Bank indicated that low oil prices would benefit the airlines.

Airline stocks moving higher on Thursday included:

• JetBlue Airways Corporation JBLU, up 5 percent.
• Virgin America Inc VA, up 5 percent.
• Spirit Airlines Incorporated SAVE, up 3 percent.
• American Airlines Group Inc AAL, up 2.4 percent.
• United Continental Holdings Inc UAL, up 3.4 percent.
• Republic Airways Holdings Inc. RJET, up 3.7 percent.

Southwest Airlines recently traded at $44.28, up 5.86 percent.

Alaska Air Group recently traded at $66.47, up 2.3 percent.