US: Airlines' big quarterly profits aren't impressing investors worried about soft economies

US airlines continue to report historically strong profits – albeit off their peaks in some cases – but investors continue to be unexcited. They are seeing the year-old trend in drooping unit revenues getting worse, not better, and are interpreting it as a sign of relatively weak – and perhaps weakening – demand for travel amidst a soft and weakening global economy. US airlines are solidly in the middle of an historic run of profitability. That’s the result of the combination of a 50% decline in fuel prices from 2 years ago and improved capacity and pricing discipline following significant consolidation over the past decade. But airline shares currently are mediocre performers. That’s largely because they continue to be viewed, for the most part, as trading stocks as opposed to long-term, buy-and-hold investments. <br/>