A JetBlue Airways Corp. plane taxis next to American Airlines Group Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc., and Alaska Airlines Inc. aircraft at Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., on Monday, April 6, 2020.
Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Several U.S. airlines on Tuesday said they reached agreements with the Treasury Department for billions in government grants aimed at softening the blow from the coronavirus.
Shares of airline stocks rallied on news of the deal in the premarket Wednesday, with JetBlue up nearly 10%, American up 7%, and United and Delta up about 6%.
The virus and harsh measures to stop it from spreading, such as stay-at-home orders, have driven air travel demand to the lowest levels in decades. Carriers have grounded hundreds of jetliners and are asking thousands of employees to take voluntary unpaid leave, in a race to cut costs as cancellations outpaced bookings.
American, Delta, United, Southwest, Spirit, JetBlue, Alaska, and others applied…
