Oil prices were trading more than 15% higher at levels not seen since 2022 – as some major producers cut supplies and fears of prolonged shipping disruptions gripped the market. At one point, Brent crude futures jumped as much as 29%.

That promises to pile pressure on carriers already navigating tight airspace as travellers scramble to evade the Middle East ​conflict.

In Asia, airlines bearing the brunt of investor fears included Korean Air Lines which tumbled 8.6%, Air New Zealand  which lost 7.8% and Hong Kong’s Cathay ​Pacific which lost 5%.

FEWER LEISURE TRAVELLERS IN THE OFFING?

Underscoring that pain on the consumer side were jumps in ticket prices. Direct ⁠flights from Seoul to London on March 11 with Korean Air Lines, for example, leapt to $4,359, up from $564 seven days earlier, according to Google Flights data.

“The issue for the ​airlines now is that travel demand may be curtailed as costs become prohibitive for leisure travelers and as some companies start to limit business travel due to the uncertain ​outlook,” said Lorraine Tan, director of equity research, Asia at Morningstar.

The impact of high airfares could limit travel demand for much of 2026, Tan added.

In Europe, Air France KLM, British Airways owner IAG and Lufthansa fell between 4% and 6% in early trade, while major U.S. airlines were down about 4% in pre-market trading.

Fuel is the second-largest expense for air carriers after labour, typically accounting for ​a fifth to a quarter of operating expenses. Some major Asian and European airlines have oil hedging in place, but U.S. airlines largely stopped the practice over the ​last two decades.

“If crude is rising 20%, jet fuel is rising several times more as it is even more scarce, adding significant cost to operations together with crew resources which are stretched ‌due to ⁠longer flying times when airspace is closed,” said Subhas Menon, head of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines.

That could have dire implications for the industry.

AIRCRAFT COULD BE GROUNDED

“Absent near-term relief, airlines around the world could be forced to ground 1,000s of aircraft while some of the industry’s financially weakest carriers could halt operations,” Deutsche analysts said in a note to clients.

They also noted that a sharp spike in jet fuel costs in 2005 in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita resulted in widespread and significant damage ​to the industry, including major airlines Delta ​and Northwest filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy ⁠that year.

Since February 28, when the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran started, through March 8, more than 37,000 flights to and from the Middle East have been cancelled, according to data from Cirium.

With airspace severely constrained, airlines have been forced to reroute flights, carry ​extra fuel or make additional refuelling stops to guard against sudden diversions or longer flight paths through safer corridors.

Combined, Emirates, Qatar ​Airways and Etihad normally ⁠fly about one-third of passengers from Europe to Asia and more than half of all passengers from Europe to Australia, New Zealand and nearby Pacific Islands, according to Cirium.

In Oman, Muscat International Airport has asked private jet operators to avoid using the site for “additional flights,” giving priority to government and commercial flights as fresh airspace closures hit the region’s attempts to ⁠increase travel, ​according to an email seen by Reuters.

Flights to Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan by Turkish Airlines, AJet, ​Pegasus and SunExpress have been cancelled until March 13, Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said on Sunday.

Credits: Reuters

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The popular research service can help you become a smarter, more self-assured investor, giving you access to daily updates of the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank, the Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research reports, and Premium stock screens.

It also includes access to the Zacks Style Scores.

What are the Zacks Style Scores?

The Zacks Style Scores is a unique set of guidelines that rates stocks based on three popular investing types, and were developed as complementary indicators for the Zacks Rank. This combination helps investors choose securities with the highest chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.

Each stock is assigned a rating of A, B, C, D, or F based on their value, growth, and momentum characteristics. Just like in school, an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on — that means the better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform.

The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:

Value Score

For value investors, it’s all about finding good stocks at good prices, and discovering which companies are trading under their true value before the broader market catches on. The Value Style Score utilizes ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and a host of other multiples to help pick out the most attractive and discounted stocks.

Growth Score

Growth investors, on the other hand, are more concerned with a company’s financial strength and health, and its future outlook. The Growth Style Score examines things like projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow to find stocks that will experience sustainable growth over time.

Momentum Score

Momentum investors, who live by the saying “the trend is your friend,” are most interested in taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock’s price or earnings outlook. Utilizing one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates, among other factors, the Momentum Style Score can help determine favorable times to buy high-momentum stocks.

VGM Score

What if you like to use all three types of investing? The VGM Score is a combination of all Style Scores, making it one of the most comprehensive indicators to use with the Zacks Rank. It rates each stock on their combined weighted styles, which helps narrow down the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum.

How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank

The Zacks Rank, which is a proprietary stock-rating model, employs earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company’s earnings expectations, to make building a winning portfolio easier.

Investors can count on the Zacks Rank’s success, with #1 (Strong Buy) stocks producing an unmatched +23.81% average annual return since 1988, more than double the S&P 500’s performance. But the model rates a large number of stocks, and there are over 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, plus another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.

This totals more than 800 top-rated stocks, and it can be overwhelming to try and pick the best stocks for you and your portfolio.

That’s where the Style Scores come in.

To maximize your returns, you want to buy stocks with the highest probability of success. This means picking stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B. If you find yourself looking at stocks with a #3 (Hold) rank, make sure they have Scores of A or B as well to ensure as much upside potential as possible.

The direction of a stock’s earnings estimate revisions should always be a key factor when choosing which stocks to buy, since the Scores were created to work together with the Zacks Rank.

Here’s an example: a stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, even one with Style Scores of A and B, still has a downward-trending earnings outlook, and a bigger chance its share price will decrease too.

Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.

Stock to Watch: Ryanair 

Ryanair Holdings was incorporated in 1996 as a holding company for Ryanair Designated Activity Company. Ryanair, which commenced its flight operations in 1985, is headquartered in Swords, Ireland.

RYAAY is a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of A.

Momentum investors should take note of this Transportation stock. RYAAY has a Momentum Style Score of B, and shares are up 8.6% over the past four weeks.

One analyst revised their earnings estimate higher in the last 60 days for fiscal 2026, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.20 to $4.72 per share. RYAAY also boasts an average earnings surprise of +61.2%.

With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Momentum and VGM Style Scores, RYAAY should be on investors’ short list.

Research Chief Names “Single Best Pick to Double”

From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.

This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.

Credits: Ryanair

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The post Here’s Why Ryanair (RYAAY) is a Strong Momentum Stock first appeared on AircrewNews.com.