Why Southwest Airlines Lost Altitude Today

Southwest Airlines (LUV -0.96%) has not yet seen a rebound in demand for travel, disappointing investors who had been hoping for a quick turnaround.Southwest shares fell as much as 4.5% when comments were made by the company's CFO before rebounding somewhat and trading down 1% as of 2:30 p.m. ET. Discretionary spending takes a diveAirline stocks are highly cyclical in nature. When budgets get tight, it is easier to skimp on travel than the grocery bill, meaning airlines tend to see demand fall when the broa ...