According to a Wall Street analyst, two airlines stand to gain the most as the United States prepares to abolish COVID-19 test requirements for overseas visitors.
When it comes to trans-Atlantic flight routes for legacy carriers, United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL) and Delta Air Lines are likely to benefit from this.
Since January 2021, international passengers intending to fly to the United States must produce confirmation of a negative COVID-19 test at least 24 hours prior to taking off on their flight.
Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu said on Friday that “the testing requirement has been identified as one of the biggest obstacles to unlocking travel demand, especially on the business side, across the Atlantic.”
According to the AP and other media sites, the Biden administration will remove the restriction, which expires on Sunday, at the end of the day.
In the event that new strains of the virus develop, the AP reports that testing will be re-evaluated every 90 days.
According to Citi analyst Stephen Trent, the expense of COVID-19 testing might be prohibitive.
As a result, some US citizens may have postponed overseas travel due to the fear of testing positive outside of the country and being denied entry back into the US, according to Trent.
As a result, Kahyaoglu claimed, “significantly more difficult” travels were created for business travelers because of the testing need and the possibility of being stuck overseas.
Airline profits have long been bolstered by the lucrative premium and refundable economy tickets that business customers often purchase.
According to Jefferies Kahyaoglu, United Airlines is expected to reap the “most advantage.”
It was unusual for the airline to delay the retirement of jets during the beginning of the epidemic, as well as to take delivery of widebody planes.
Analysts believe that it will be able to rapidly move planes across the Atlantic to take advantage of the anticipated increase in demand as a result of the easing of testing requirements.
With 52 percent of Delta’s international capacity connected to the trans-Atlantic corridor, compared to 43 percent for its counterparts, Kahyaoglu stated that Delta’s widebody fleet is smaller than it was in 2019.
Delivery delays for American Airlines’ Boeing Co. BA, -5.03 percent 787 widebody planes have hurt the airline hard.
While the three traditional carriers have “significant exposure” to foreign revenue, airlines like JetBlue Airways Corp. JBLU and Spirit Airlines Inc SAVE also have “substantial exposure,” according to Raymond James’ analyst Savanthi Syth in a research note.
International travel will be boosted as a result of the criterion being scrapped, according to Smyth. A number of big markets, including the UK, France, and Canada have also eliminated testing requirements.
The stock prices of United, Delta, and American Airlines all fell on Friday, following the general trend of the stock market in the United States. The stock of American Airlines was the worst of the three, falling 3.6 percent.
U.S. Global Jet ETF JETS, -3.70 percent had its share price fall by 3.2% in trading on Friday. As of this writing, the ETF has lost 13% of its value this year, while the S&P 500 has lost about 18%. SPX is down 2.91 percent.
The post Two Airlines Stand To Gain The Most As The United States Prepares To Abolish Covid-19 Test Requirements For Overseas Visitors. appeared first on Best Stocks.
