14-Jan-2010 5:18 PM

United Airlines follows suit with baggage fees; FedEx and UPS fall

North and South America airline stocks rebounded on Wednesday (13-Jan-2010), with the AMEX Airline Index gaining 3.0%, as oil prices (-1.5%) retreated back below USD80, to USD79.59. Oil gained on news US inventories have grown in the last week, due to slowing demand. The fall in oil prices also assisted the wider market, pushing the Dow up 0.5%.

United Airlines follows suit with baggage fees, stock currently above 10 day moving average

United Airlines (+9.9%) was the biggest gainer of the day, with its stock surging as it announced it has followed suit and increased baggage fees, matching moves by Delta Air Lines (+2.5%), Continental Airlines (+3.4%) and US Airways (+7.9%). The carrier plans to increase fees for the first item of checked baggage to USD25 from USD20, and to USD35 from USD30 for a second item of checked baggage, effective for fares purchased from 15-Jan-2010 or for travel from 21-Jan-2010.

American Airlines (+3.6%) is yet to increase its baggage fees, but is expected to follow suit soon.

As a result, United Airlines moved above its ten-day moving average of USD13.21, ending trading at USD13.95. According to SmarTrend, this may swing investors, as the move suggests higher priced stocks for the near term.

TAM down despite positive traffic results for Dec-2009

TAM meanwhile dropped, despite reporting a 20.7% year-on-year increase in domestic passenger numbers and a 12.0% increase in international passenger numbers for Dec-2009. Domestic load factor meanwhile was at 69.6% for the month, while international load factor rose 4.1 ppts, to 75.5%.

America Airline Daily today has detailed Dec-2009 traffic results for all Brazilian carriers.

Elsewhere, Air Canada (-1.5%), FedEx (-0.9%) and UPS (-0.5%) stocks were down at the end of trading.

North & South America selected airlines daily share price movements (% change): 13-Jan-2010