Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway backs big US airlines

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway bet on the biggest US airlines, reversing decades of aversion to the industry.

Berkshire held 21.8 million shares of American Airlines Group as of September 30th, valued at almost $800 million at the time, according to a regulatory filing. Buffett's company also reported 6.33 million shares of Delta Air and another 4.53 million of United Continental Holdings. And Berkshire added an investment in Southwest Airlines after September 30th, CNBC reported, citing Mr Buffett."What this says is, 'The run isn't over for airlines,'" analyst Joe DeNardi said. "There's still a lot of this story to play out."

Transportation

Mr Buffett has long bet on the growth of the US economy by investing in transportation. Berkshire owns the BNSF railway, the McLane trucking operation and a network of car dealerships. And while the conglomerate also has the NetJets luxury aviation unit and Precision Castparts, the maker of products for the plane industry, Mr Buffett has previously cited the risks of airlines.

The billionaire said in 2001 that he'd sworn off investing in airline stocks after earlier lamenting the "mistake" of betting on US Airways Group. He added that the industry had been unprofitable from the time of Wilbur and Orville Wright through to 1991.– (Bloomberg)