JetBlue (JBLU) and Southwest Airlines (LUV) edged lower on Friday after BofA Global Research downgraded both stocks to ‘Underperform’ from ‘Neutral’. According to TheFly, the BofA analyst said both airlines trade at the high end of historical valuation ranges despite less exposure to "the strongest industry trends.

Airline stocks were mixed on Friday after Bank of America upgraded American Airlines Group Inc. and downgraded Southwest Airlines Co. and JetBlue Airways Corp., predicting that the network carriers will continue to outperform low-cost airlines due to demand for premium travel.

The Transportation Department also announced $650,000 in civil penalties against Frontier Airlines on Wednesday, citing chronically delayed flights. $325,000 will be paid to the U.S. Treasury while the remainder can be suspended if Frontier does not operate more chronically delayed flights in the next three years.

The Department of Transportation is suing Southwest Airlines, accusing it of operating two “chronically delayed flights” in 2022 that resulted in 180 flight disruptions.

The Transportation Department is stepping up enforcement of persistent flight delays with a civil lawsuit against Southwest Airlines and a fine against Frontier Airlines.