U.S. airline stocks gain on retail sales data

A Delta Airlines jet lands at Ronald Regan National Airport in Washington August 2, 2009.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. airlines shares vaulted higher on Friday, led by Delta Air Lines (DAL.N), as markets digested news that U.S. consumers stepped up their spending in November.

Delta was up 13.06 percent at $11.17 on the New York Stock Exchange in afternoon trade. AMR Corp AMR.N, parent of American Airlines, gained 9.52 percent to $7.71 on the NYSE. UAL Corp UAUA.O, parent of United Airlines, gained 9.34 percent to $11.12 on the Nasdaq.

The Arca airline index .XAL gained as much as 6.93 percent, its biggest jump since early May.

"Retail sales are up. It's got to be retail sales," said Basili Alukos, Morningstar airline analyst.

"I would think that people are spending money. As a result they'll look more toward flying again," Alukos said.

Retail sales rose 1.3 percent last month, the largest advance since August, the Commerce Department said.

Alukos said addition support for airline stocks came from a 1 percent decline in oil prices, which is directly related to jet fuel costs.

(Reporting by Kyle Peterson, additional reporting by Doris Frankel; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)