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Ready to Take Off: Airline ETFs to Soar on Record Thanksgiving Travel
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For U.S. airlines, the fall of 2025 brought unprecedented operational turmoil, as a prolonged government shutdown left air traffic controllers working without pay, creating ripple effects throughout the national airspace system. Now, with the shutdown over and operational visibility improving, the narrative heading into Thanksgiving looks far brighter.
With the industry trade group Airlines for America (A4A) predicting a record more than 31 million passengers flying on U.S. carriers between Nov. 21 and Dec. 1, the outlook for the industry has dramatically improved just in time for the holiday season.
This optimistic data is expected to drive gains in airline-focused Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) that offer exposure to the industry.
Why Airline ETFs Might Be a Smarter Investment
For investors looking to capitalize on the aforementioned favorable trend, an Airline ETF should be a more prudent choice than buying individual airline stocks. The core advantage lies in diversification. The airline industry has been susceptible to multiple factors like fuel price volatility, labor disputes and company-specific operational failures (e.g., mass cancellations due to IT or crew issues) in the recent past.
By investing in an ETF, you gain exposure to a basket of companies, including major carriers and regional airlines. If one airline stock underperforms or faces an unexpected crisis, the negative impact on the ETF's overall performance is mitigated by the strength of its other holdings. This diversification helps lower the single-stock risk and provides a smoother ride for investors seeking exposure to the industry’s recovery and growth.
Tailwinds for the Airline Industry: Thanksgiving Travel & Beyond
Undoubtedly, the projected Thanksgiving travel data remains the primary catalyst, which implies that, on average, 2.8 million passengers will fly per day over the said period, suggesting a 1% rise from the 2024 reported level, boosting the airline industry’s profitability in the days ahead.
Apart from this, some travelers seemed to have waited until the government shutdown ended (on Nov. 12) before booking their trips and are now purchasing their tickets.
To this end, United Airlines (UAL - Free Report) mentioned that its bookings between Nov. 15 and Nov. 16 went up 16% compared with the prior weekend, when air travel disruptions spiked (as per CNBC). This airline expects to fly 6.6 million customers between Nov. 20 and Dec. 2, up more than 4% from the prior-year level.
Moreover, high demand during peak travel seasons allows airlines to maintain or even increase ticket prices, boosting their revenue per available seat mile (RASM). Now that bookings have increased, some passengers might be ready to pay the higher-priced tickets for the Thanksgiving period, which, in turn, should boost the airline stocks’ profitability.
Airline ETFs to Fly High
Considering the aforementioned discussion, investors interested in the airline industry may keep a watch on the following airline ETFs as a potential vehicle to capitalize on the industry’s strong rebound expected from the solid Thanksgiving travel data prediction.
This fund offers exposure to companies across the globe with an emphasis on domestic passenger airlines. Its top three holdings include Southwest Airlines (approximately 11.51% weightage in the fund), Delta Airlines (10.46%) and UAL (10.19%).
JETS has gained 1.4% year to date and soared 3.4% since Nov. 15.
This fund provides exposure to stocks of U.S.-listed companies that have operations relating to the airline industry, including airlines and aircraft and aircraft parts manufacturers, and companies engaged in the businesses of air freight and logistics, aircraft leasing and airline and airport operations. United Airlines holds the first spot in this fund with 9.22% weightage, while American Airlines holds the fourth spot with 9.05% weightage.
JETU has lost 18.4% year to date but gained 1.5% since Nov. 15.
MAX Airlines -3X Inverse Leveraged ETNs (JETD - Free Report)
This fund offers exposure to U.S.-listed companies that have operations relating to the airline industry, including airlines and aircraft and aircraft parts manufacturers, and companies engaged in the businesses of air freight and logistics, aircraft leasing, and airline and airport operations. United Airlines holds the first spot in this fund with 9.22% weightage, while American Airlines holds the fourth spot with 9.05% weightage.
JETD has plunged 47% year to date and lost 2.8% since Nov. 15.
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Ready to Take Off: Airline ETFs to Soar on Record Thanksgiving Travel
For U.S. airlines, the fall of 2025 brought unprecedented operational turmoil, as a prolonged government shutdown left air traffic controllers working without pay, creating ripple effects throughout the national airspace system. Now, with the shutdown over and operational visibility improving, the narrative heading into Thanksgiving looks far brighter.
With the industry trade group Airlines for America (A4A) predicting a record more than 31 million passengers flying on U.S. carriers between Nov. 21 and Dec. 1, the outlook for the industry has dramatically improved just in time for the holiday season.
This optimistic data is expected to drive gains in airline-focused Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) that offer exposure to the industry.
Why Airline ETFs Might Be a Smarter Investment
For investors looking to capitalize on the aforementioned favorable trend, an Airline ETF should be a more prudent choice than buying individual airline stocks. The core advantage lies in diversification. The airline industry has been susceptible to multiple factors like fuel price volatility, labor disputes and company-specific operational failures (e.g., mass cancellations due to IT or crew issues) in the recent past.
By investing in an ETF, you gain exposure to a basket of companies, including major carriers and regional airlines. If one airline stock underperforms or faces an unexpected crisis, the negative impact on the ETF's overall performance is mitigated by the strength of its other holdings. This diversification helps lower the single-stock risk and provides a smoother ride for investors seeking exposure to the industry’s recovery and growth.
Tailwinds for the Airline Industry: Thanksgiving Travel & Beyond
Undoubtedly, the projected Thanksgiving travel data remains the primary catalyst, which implies that, on average, 2.8 million passengers will fly per day over the said period, suggesting a 1% rise from the 2024 reported level, boosting the airline industry’s profitability in the days ahead.
Apart from this, some travelers seemed to have waited until the government shutdown ended (on Nov. 12) before booking their trips and are now purchasing their tickets.
To this end, United Airlines (UAL - Free Report) mentioned that its bookings between Nov. 15 and Nov. 16 went up 16% compared with the prior weekend, when air travel disruptions spiked (as per CNBC). This airline expects to fly 6.6 million customers between Nov. 20 and Dec. 2, up more than 4% from the prior-year level.
Moreover, high demand during peak travel seasons allows airlines to maintain or even increase ticket prices, boosting their revenue per available seat mile (RASM). Now that bookings have increased, some passengers might be ready to pay the higher-priced tickets for the Thanksgiving period, which, in turn, should boost the airline stocks’ profitability.
Airline ETFs to Fly High
Considering the aforementioned discussion, investors interested in the airline industry may keep a watch on the following airline ETFs as a potential vehicle to capitalize on the industry’s strong rebound expected from the solid Thanksgiving travel data prediction.
U.S. Global Jets ETF (JETS - Free Report)
This fund offers exposure to companies across the globe with an emphasis on domestic passenger airlines. Its top three holdings include Southwest Airlines (approximately 11.51% weightage in the fund), Delta Airlines (10.46%) and UAL (10.19%).
JETS has gained 1.4% year to date and soared 3.4% since Nov. 15.
MAX Airlines 3X Leveraged ETNs (JETU - Free Report)
This fund provides exposure to stocks of U.S.-listed companies that have operations relating to the airline industry, including airlines and aircraft and aircraft parts manufacturers, and companies engaged in the businesses of air freight and logistics, aircraft leasing and airline and airport operations. United Airlines holds the first spot in this fund with 9.22% weightage, while American Airlines holds the fourth spot with 9.05% weightage.
JETU has lost 18.4% year to date but gained 1.5% since Nov. 15.
MAX Airlines -3X Inverse Leveraged ETNs (JETD - Free Report)
This fund offers exposure to U.S.-listed companies that have operations relating to the airline industry, including airlines and aircraft and aircraft parts manufacturers, and companies engaged in the businesses of air freight and logistics, aircraft leasing, and airline and airport operations. United Airlines holds the first spot in this fund with 9.22% weightage, while American Airlines holds the fourth spot with 9.05% weightage.
JETD has plunged 47% year to date and lost 2.8% since Nov. 15.