United Airlines announced a $1.5 billion stock buyback plan, underscoring a seeming return to an investor focus that had diminished in the pandemic.

Times are frothy for the travel industry these days, so it wasn't exactly surprising to hear good news coming from top American carrier United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL) several days ago. On the back of a strong quarterly earnings report and a subsequent clutch of analyst price target raises,

That money United just promised Wall Street belongs to flight attendants who worked throughout the pandemic,” union spokespeople said.