Airline ETF Poised for January Take-Off

Until now, there hasn’t been a truly focused airline ETF available for investors. But sometime in January, Claymore is expected to launch such a fund: the Claymore/NYSE Arca Airline ETF.

According to the SEC filing, the fund will contain 26 names in the passenger airline industry - 70% of which are domestic, 30% of which are global. The top three components in each of the two categories will be weighted up to 15% for domestic airlines and 4.5% for international.

The index provider is Archipelago Holdings, Inc.

At the moment, the closest thing investors have to an airline ETF would be the iShares Dow Jones U.S. Transportation (IYT), which has several airlines in small percentages.

The industry has had its share of challenges this year, mostly owing to record oil prices hit this summer coupled with slowing consumer spending. But things are looking up for the airline industry: losses in 2009 are predicted to shrink to half of this year’s level, report Andrea Rothman and Steve Rothwell for Bloomberg.

In the last 12 months, carriers have lost $5 billion. As oil has retreated from all-time highs, predictions for next year have gotten a little rosier, but the industry could still be in the red.