Why Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and Southwest Airlines Stocks Are Up Wednesday

Airline stocks were getting a second wind in early afternoon trading Wednesday, with shares of Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) leading the charge with a 4.1% gain as of 12:15 p.m. EDT today. Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) stock and American Airlines Group (NASDAQ: AAL) were not far behind, climbing 4% and 2.5%, respectively. Credit for the surge must go to Delta.

Speaking on Fox Business this morning, Delta CEO Edward Bastian predicted that after months of flight reductions, Delta will probably execute a turn in the near future and begin slowly increasing capacity again in June and July.

Currently, the air travel business remains slow, and Delta's load factor is about 35% to 40%, Bastian said. But the company believes it can grow to 60% even if that means keeping middle seats open to promote social distancing on its airplanes.