With the COVID-19 Omicron variant sneaking in at the end of the month, November ended up a bloodbath for ASX travel shares.
The Motley Fool calculated that out of 12 travel-related stocks, just 3 ended the month higher than it started:
| ASX share | November price change |
| Alliance Aviation Services Ltd (ASX: AQZ) | 12.83% |
| Sydney Airport (ASX: SYD) | 1.34% |
| Auckland International Airport Limited (ASX: AIA) | 0.27% |
| Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) | (5.42%) |
| Air New Zealand Limited (ASX: AIZ) | (7.01%) |
| Apollo Tourism & Leisure Ltd (ASX: ATL) | (8.46%) |
| Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) | (9.72%) |
| Regional Express Holdings Ltd (ASX: REX) | (10.76%) |
| Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) | (11.21%) |
| Kelsian Group Ltd (ASX: KLS) | (12.26%) |
| Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) | (13.45%) |
| Helloworld Travel Ltd (ASX: HLO) | (18.01%) |
Let's take a look at the trio of lucky ASX shares that had a positive November:
Image source: Getty Images
The airline that's taking off during the pandemic
Alliance Aviation has been a favourite among professional investors the past year as it's been one of the few airlines to grow during the pandemic.
The small operator did well from providing wet leases with its larger rivals, which is best described as an outsourcing agreement.
It seems Alliance shares did most of its climbing early in November while Omicron was merely a letter of the Greek alphabet.
On the morning of Monday 8 November, the company revealed Qantas had exercised further options on its wet leasing contract.
That week, the stock climbed 4.51%.
The shares then held steady the last few days during the Omicron panic to not lose their earlier gains.
According to CMC Markets, 4 out of 5 analysts rate the stock as a "strong buy", with the 5th considering it a "hold".
Will Sydney Airport's takeover complete?
Sydney Airport also did most of its heavy lifting on 8 November.
The shares rocketed 2.79% on that day after it accepted a revised $8.75 per share takeover offer from the Sydney Aviation Alliance consortium.
The airport understandably lost a lot of those gains on Monday on the back of Omicron-triggered border closures, ending November 1.34% higher than it started.
Due to the pending acquisition, most analysts rate Sydney Airport shares as a "hold", according to CMC Markets.
The deal is still subject to shareholder approval and, critically, requires a green light from the watchdog Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
The shares are starting December at $8.30.
No one knows what's happening with Auckland Airport shares
Auckland Airport is another stock that made most of its gains by 8 November.
The shares rocketed 5.33% over the first 8 days of the month, but gave up most of those gains in the last fortnight.
The airport stock ended just 0.27% in the positive for November, which was still good for third place among travel shares.
According to CMC Markets, analysts are divided on Auckland Airport shares. Three out of 10 rating them as a "strong buy", but 4 rate them as "hold" and 3 are urging clients to sell.
