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U.S. Airlines Rise as Fliers Ignore Ebola, Fuel Declines

U.S. airlines rose the most since 2011, ending a six-day losing streak, as fliers ignored Ebola worries and continued to fill planes. Jet fuel dropped to the lowest price in almost four years.
The Bloomberg U.S. Airlines Index climbed 6.3 percent, led by American Airlines Group Inc. The carrier surged 10 percent for its biggest gain since merging with US Airways Group in December.
Investors’ focus may have shifted to the outlook for a possible record third-quarter industry profit and away from the spread of Ebola and a possible global economic slowdown that had weighed on the shares. A group of 11 U.S. carriers should report a $4 billion profit, according to Michael Linenberg, a Deutsche Bank AG analyst in New York.
“There has been a little more concern on Ebola, but so far demand remains strong,” said Savanthi Syth, an analyst with Raymond James Financial Inc. in St. Petersburg, Florida. “People say, ‘I’m concerned, I’m taking extra precautions, but it’s not going to make me not take my vacation.’”
Jet fuel in New York harbor fell 3.3 percent to $2.44 a gallon, the lowest price since December 2010. Fuel has accounted for more spending than labor at the largest U.S. airlines, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mary Schlangenstein in Dallas at maryc.s@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ed Dufner at edufner@bloomberg.net Molly Schuetz, John Lear