Top 10 Airline Stocks Benefiting From The Air Travel Boom

4. Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV)

A subpar performance in 2024 continues Southwest Airlines’ slump in the past few years. Once known as one of the most efficient and profitable airlines, LUV has fallen out of favor with investors and is making significant strategic changes to gain back both travelers’ and investors’ trust.

One of the drivers of LUV’s growth in 2025 will be the addition of redeye flights. A redeye flight is one where the flight takes off late in the evening or at night and arrives at its destination in the early hours of the morning. In the past, the airline has not run these flights because its business model predominantly worked on running shorter affordable flights. Its systems did not support these flights and its labor contracts also didn’t allow it.

In February 2025, LUV will be able to run its first redeye flight, slowly expanding from major airports across the East and West Coasts to other destinations. At the same time, it will trim its intra-Hawaii flights. On the product level, LUV could start monetizing the more preferred seats within its planes. This avenue has not yet been tapped by the company but 2025 will most likely be the year when the company starts generating revenue from extra legroom and priority boarding, like many other airlines do.