Airline stocks defy the snow and bad weather

Even with the much-talked about polar vortex and many canceled flights throughout the nation, airline stocks have somehow continued to rise, even being among the top performers of 2014 so far.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) had a positive earnings report, telling investors on Tuesday morning that they had eclipsed sales forecasts. Shares of their stock have gone up 15% in 2014 so far, after a 2013 that saw a 130% gain.

Other big gainers in the Dow Jones this year have been airlines, including United Continental (UAL), Southwest (LUV), Alaska Airlines (ALK), and JetBlue (JBLU).

Even with some major snafus relating to canceling many flights during inclement weather and plenty of criticism to go along with it, JetBlue has done extremely well. Its stock is up 7% this year. Meanwhile, American Airlines Group (AAL) has gone up by over 35% since resulting from the merger between AMR and US Airways.

The fact is that with all of the mergers and only so many options available, unless travelers choose to eschew air travel altogether, airlines will continue to perform at an acceptable level. And we haven’t even hit the summer vacation season yet.