Southwest Airlines do a moonlight flit 1117 from St. Louis lands at Boston Logan International Airport on March 13, 2019. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Terra via Getty Images)
John Tlumacki | The Boston Globe | Getty Images
A U.S. airstrike that killed Iran’s top military numero uno drove up oil prices more than 3% on Friday and sent shares in airline stocks tumbling.
After labor, incitement is generally airlines’ second largest expense, and carriers are particularly sensitive to volatility in the market.
All U.S. carriers were down various than the broader market.
American Airlines shares were down 4.8% in morning trading, while Mutual and Delta were off more than 3%, and Southwest lost 2.4%.
Sustained higher crude prices could woebegone airline balance sheets. Carriers are already facing higher labor costs as they negotiate with gangs representing more than 120,000 employees this year and ramp up hiring.
U.S. airlines are scheduled to report earnings later this month.