In this article, we will discuss: 8 Best Airline Stocks to Buy Heading into 2026.
According to a USA Today report, Air travel challenges across the United States will persist despite the government’s reopening, as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) works through substantial manpower shortages following the country’s longest-ever shutdown. Late on Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed the funding bill, ending the shutdown that started on October 1 and causing tens of thousands of cancellations and delays. The FAA had previously mandated flight reductions at 40 major airports, which were initially scheduled to increase to 8% on November 13 and 10% on 14th. However, as controller absences decreased, the reductions are still at 6%.
Nearly 1,000 flights were canceled and over 450 were delayed nationally as of November 13, with Chicago O’Hare facing severe disruptions. According to FAA authorities, sustained improvements in staffing patterns are necessary for full normalization. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that a recovery plan will be developed once safety teams confirm positive signals.
Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines, told CNBC that he anticipates the system being “largely back to normal this weekend,” despite the anticipated financial repercussions of the closure. According to Delta, it expects to reach full capacity in “the next few days.”
While near-term volatility has come down, a rebound in growth remains debated. As per a Bloomberg report from November 14, Grace Lee, a senior portfolio manager at Columbia Threadneedle Investments, asserted:
“Because the shutdown is finished for now, we’ve avoided the worst of the potential outcomes, which was Thanksgiving week mayhem.”
However, David Wagner, portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors, was slightly cautious and noted:
“Right now, the hope for airline stocks is that a consumer resurgence will come into play over the next few quarters due to the tax breaks from Trump’s bill. But if that cannot spur some growth in air travel, the group may catch some turbulence in the near term.”
With that backdrop, here are the 8 Best Airline Stocks to Buy Heading into 2026.
Our Methodology
To compile our list of the 8 Best Airline Stocks to Buy Heading into 2026, we utilized online screeners to generate an initial list of all U.S.-listed airline companies. From this pool, we selected stocks with a good potential upside as of November 20 and the best hedge fund sentiment, as assessed using Insider Monkey’s database of hedge funds as of Q2 2025. Finally, we ranked these stocks in ascending order by upside and provided data on hedge funds that hold stakes in them.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 427.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 264 percentage points (see more details here).
8. Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY)
Analysts’ Upside Potential as of November 20: 6.2%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 23
Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY) is one of the Best Airline Stocks.
The Fly reported on November 4, 2025, that Harry Gowers, a JPMorgan analyst, lifted the price target for Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY) from EUR 30 to EUR 30.50. He kept an Overweight rating on the shares.
Separately, on November 3, 2025, Reuters reported that Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY) stated that it might recover last year’s 7% fare drop following an increase in its six-month FY 2026 after-tax profit to EUR 2.54 billion, compared to analysts’ projections of EUR 2.5 billion. The airline boosted its passenger traffic projection, citing earlier-than-expected Boeing aircraft deliveries and stronger demand.
According to Reuters, Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY)’s CEO Michael O’Leary later told analysts that a solid Christmas season might lead to an 8% year-over-year increase in fares, despite the airline’s earlier projection that it might recover the average fare decline for the fiscal year ending March 31. According to the report, Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY) secured fuel hedging by taking advantage of a price decline, and O’Leary stated that Boeing’s manufacturing had “transformed.”
Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY) forecasts FY26 passengers to go up by 3% due to early Boeing deliveries and strong first-half demand, but it forecasts challenging fare comparisons in the second half of the year.
It is anticipated that FY26 traffic would surpass 207 million passengers, with B-8200 deliveries, fuel hedging, and cost restrictions expected to balance minor unit-cost increases. Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY) warns of risks from macroeconomic shocks, European ATC disruptions, and geopolitical events but anticipates recovering last year’s 7% fare decrease.
Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY) is Europe’s leading low-cost airline. It operates over 3,600 flights per day to more than 240 destinations in 40 countries.
7. LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM)
Analysts’ Upside Potential as of November 20: 18.6%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 23
LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM) is one of the Best Airline Stocks on our list.
The Fly reported on November 19, 2025, that Barclays analyst Pablo Monsivais maintained an Overweight rating while raising the company’s price target from $55 to $60. The firm states that the target increase was based on the company’s better-than-expected quarterly performance.
Separately, on November 14, 2025, LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM) announced its third-quarter 2025 financial results. LATAM Airlines reported $3.856 billion in total operating revenue for the third quarter of 2025, a 17.3% increase over the same period in 2024. Adjusted EBITDAR increased 38.9% to $1.150 billion, with a margin of 29.8%. The parent company’s adjusted operating income was $698 million, while net income increased by 25.8% to $379 million.
Adjusted passenger Cost per Available Seat Kilometre (CASK) ex-fuel jumped to 4.4 cents, 11.6% growth YoY, and passenger Revenue per Available Seat Kilometre (RASK) grew to 7.6 cents by 8.4% YoY. The load factor reached 85.4%, while consolidated capacity increased by 9.3% annually.
The company’s year-to-date net income was $1.0 billion. The cancellation of 30.22 billion Treasury shares was approved by shareholders, leaving 574.22 billion shares outstanding. Furthermore, LATAM raised adjusted EBITDAR to $4.00-$4.10 billion in its updated full-year 2025 outlook.
LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM) is one of the largest airline groups in South America and globally. It operates passenger and cargo businesses through an extensive network connecting five domestic markets (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru) and internationally.
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