During the holiday season, the travel industry is front of mind, and not always in the best light as we all suffer inevitable travel delays. Nevertheless, travel stocks have staged a big comeback after trending lower for several months this year. The VettaFi Global Travel Index bottomed in August and lifted about 35% before pulling back to short-term oversold territory last week. American Airlines (AAL) has exhibited upside leadership within the sector, having roughly doubled since its August low and having advanced from a long-term basing phase. The stock captured positive intermediate-term momentum after holding up near the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic low, and it recently broke out in a positive long-term technical catalyst. The monthly stochastic oscillator is not yet overbought, and the monthly MACD looks headed for positive territory. Up until recently, AAL had been in a long-term trend of underperformance versus the S & P 500 Index (SPX) , having reeled from the Covid-19 pandemic alongside other airlines. A downtrend line that traces back to the highs in early 2021 has been decisively broken in both absolute and relative terms in a bullish reversal. The long-term breakout and improved relative strength lend a more promising setup for AAL for the coming one to two years. Looking at the daily chart, the gap higher earlier this month took the stock above former resistance from earlier in the year. This prior resistance now serves a gauge of support for AAL, enhanced by the gap and the 50-day moving average, which is rising in a reflection of positive intermediate-term momentum. Traders may want to place a stop-loss below $15.95, where support and the gap would be penetrated. AAL’s first major resistance is above $19.00. —Katie Stockton with Will Tamplin Access research from Fairlead Strategies for free here . 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