Mark Mahaney, Evercore ISI, joins 'Closing Bell' to talk about the online retail outlook as the economy continues to reopen. For access to live and exclusive video from CNBC subscribe to CNBC PRO: https://cnb.cx/2NGeIvi

Airlines are still losing money but you wouldn’t know it by looking at their stock prices this year.

United Airlines’ shares are up nearly 35%, Southwest Airlines’ are up about 38%, Delta Air Lines’ have gained 22% and American Airlines’ have surged 44% on Wednesday morning.

Airline investors have reasons to be optimistic.

Travel demand, at least from U.S. vacationers, is bouncing back after a difficult start to the year when Covid-19 cases peaked. Airline CEOs are upbeat about spring and summer bookings, too as millions receive coronavirus vaccines, quarantine orders are lifted and tourist attractions reopen.

Add to that, in the latest Covid-19 stimulus package Congress set aside a third round of payroll support: $14 billion—in the form of mostly grants that don’t have to be paid back—to cover costs of their labor force, which airlines already reduced during the pandemic through buyouts and other incentives.

That brings the total payroll support Congress approved for the sector to $54 billion in exchange for not involuntarily furloughing workers or cutting pay rates.

But airlines have plenty of challenges ahead, even though coronavirus cases have dropped. Revenue is depressed, and international and business travel are still hampered.

Airline executives this month will provide more detailed outlooks about how they’re preparing for the spring and summer travel season and what it will take to return to profitability. Delta kicks off reporting on Thursday before the market opens.

» Subscribe to CNBC TV: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCtelevision
» Subscribe to CNBC: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC
» Subscribe to CNBC Classic: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCclassic

Turn to CNBC TV for the latest stock market news and analysis. From market futures to live price updates CNBC is the leader in business news worldwide.

The News with Shepard Smith is CNBC’s daily news podcast providing deep, non-partisan coverage and perspective on the day’s most important stories. Available to listen by 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm PT daily beginning September 30: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/29/the-n...

Connect with CNBC News Online
Get the latest news: http://www.cnbc.com/
Follow CNBC on LinkedIn: https://cnb.cx/LinkedInCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Facebook: https://cnb.cx/LikeCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Twitter: https://cnb.cx/FollowCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Instagram: https://cnb.cx/InstagramCNBC

https://www.cnbc.com/select/best-cred...

#CNBC
#CNBCTV