Airline stocks soaring, but there’s still a long way back

FOR all the optimism about travel restarting as vaccines are rolled out, airline stocks still have a way to go to make up the ground they lost in the pandemic. It may take signs of a recovery in long-haul flights for the sector to make further gains.

The Bloomberg World Airlines Index soared 15% this month but is 17% below its 2020 peak, set in January before the coronavirus outbreak hit the world with full force. Leisure travel looks set to rebound sharply in coming months, if bookings are any guide, though a revival of business trips and intercontinental flights seems a bit further off.