Will United Or American Airlines Stock Grow More By 2022?

Every week, Benzinga conducts a sentiment survey to find out what traders are most excited about, interested in or thinking about as they manage and build their personal portfolios.

We surveyed a group of over 500 investors on whether shares of United Airlines UAL or American Airlines AAL stock would grow the most by 2022.

United Vs. American Airlines Stock

Pre-pandemic, United Airlines operated more than 1.7 million flights carrying more than 162 million customers. The airline's operating network includes the busiest airports by passenger traffic U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Today United operates a total of 791 mainline aircraft and the airline's United Express carriers operate 581 regional aircraft. United is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 195 countries via 26 member airlines.

See Also: How To Buy United Airlines Stock

American Airlines is the world's largest airline by scheduled revenue passenger miles. After completing a major fleet renewal, American also has the youngest fleet among U.S. legacy carriers.

Back in October, American Airlines reported third-quarter revenue of $3.173 billion, which declined by 73.36% from the same period last year but beat the estimate of $2.76 billion.

Sentiment between United and American Airlines from our study was pretty close: 54.3% of traders and investors said shares of United would grow more by 2022.

Airline companies have been trading in flux amid rising U.S. COVID-19 cases and a slower-than-expected vaccine rollout. A slower vaccine rollout could push back the expected economic reopening and lifting of travel restrictions.

Survey participants said United and American will need to focus on providing affordable flights in anticipation of the economic recovery from the pandemic may not see impact until late-2021. As far as competition is concerned, it can be said that low-cost ticket models in the vein of Spirit SAVE or JetBlue JBLU pricing strategies have the potential to lead travel demand once the pandemic subsides.

As the American economy recovers, and if vacation travel were to return by summer 2021, budget-conscious travelers may seek accommodations from Spirit and JetBlue in order to save extra money.

This survey was conducted by Benzinga in January 2021 and included the responses of a diverse population of adults 18 or older.

Opting into the survey was completely voluntary, with no incentives offered to potential respondents. The study reflects results from over 500 adults.