NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Airline stocks moved mostly higher Thursday as the benchmark crude-oil future price fell below $39 for the first time in more than four years.

The Amex Airline Index (XAL) rose 1.6% to end at 23.57 points with all but four of its 13 components moving higher. In the last 52 weeks, the benchmark index has moved in the range of 38.77 to 12.66 points.

Crude for January delivery fell $3.84 to close at $36.69 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex. .

Shares of United Airlines parent UAL Corp. (UAUA) jumped 3.9% to end at $11.01, Continental (CAL) climbed 5.5% to $16.93.

Trading slightly lower were shares of Southwest (LUV) and Skywest (SKYW) .

Falling oil prices have led to sharp decreases in fuel costs for the airline industry, offsetting a severe loss in passengers as the economy continues to contract.

On Thursday, the International Air Transport Association said global traffic among premium ticket holders for October fell 6.9% over the same month last year, and early indications for November pointed to further declines.