=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2003/12/05/f= inancial1157EST0096.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday, December 5, 2003 (AP) Airline stocks down after JetBlue and Southwest warn (12-05) 14:40 PST (AP) -- NEW YORK (Dow Jones/AP) -- The stocks of discount airlines skidded Friday after Southwest Airlines Co. and JetBlue Airways Corp. issued end-of-year warnings. The Dow Jones index of airline stocks ended the day down 6.5 percent, compared with a 0.7 percent decline for the Dow Jones industrial average. JetBlue said Friday that November traffic increased 57.6 percent, but reduced its forecast for fourth-quarter operating margins as added capacity hurt average fares. The company now sees operating margins between 13 percent and 14 percent, compared with 20 percent in the third quarter. The company also cited depressed traffic to southern California due to t= he wildfires earlier in the quarter. JetBlue shares closed down $5.52, or 18 percent, at $25.86 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. On Thursday, Southwest warned that the percentage of seats filled in December could fall below last year's level of 66 percent. The company also said it continues to be hurt by high energy costs. Southwest shares ended off $1.01, or 6.1 percent, at $15.59 on the New York Stock Exchange, The announcements come only days after Continental Airlines disappointed markets with a revenue report. Instead of flooding the airlines with business, the holidays aren't going to be the boon the industry was hoping for, Lehman Brothers analyst Gary Chase said. The trouble lies in the airlines' inability to fill the flights they have added, raising "deeper concerns" for next year, according to Chase. Among other low-cost carriers on the NYSE, Airtran Holdings Inc. closed down 9.9 percent at $12.05 and America West Holdings Corp. closed down 14 percent at $11.91. =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 AP