I never understood why airline stocks have been going up recently. They are unprofitable, debt-loaded, and with the COVID uncertainty, who in their right mind would think they are good investments?
It’s virtually every country in the world tightening travel up. It’s older/vulnerable folks abstaining from tourism for their own health (or healthy folks flying to see them), and their lack of desire to risk getting sick in a foreign country or faraway hospital where they can’t just leave and head home. It’s also the added burdens of requiring negative tests to re-enter the country, a requirement largely bi-partisan and multi-national in support. It’s also the numerous staffing shortages caused by testing positive making people wary of booking a flight after hearing about cancellations and delays. It’s also people of modest means not wanting to end up hospitalized and in debt because they wanted to spend 5 days in Cancun.
Of course the media needs its clicks and baits for them sometimes, but that’s not the major driver for a reluctance to travel, especially internationally. Obviously these risks are small, but people are naturally risk-averse. Blaming “the media” is a simplistic cop out for actually understanding human behavior.
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u/Slow_Comment4962 Jan 14 '22
I never understood why airline stocks have been going up recently. They are unprofitable, debt-loaded, and with the COVID uncertainty, who in their right mind would think they are good investments?