The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that for all the bad news emanating from Air Canada over the past month, this may come as a surprise: It is one of the best-performing North American airline stocks this year. The Globe's David Berman writes that the airline sector is suffering through a wobbling economy and surging fuel costs. While American Airlines fell 27.4 per cent and Southwest declined 7.5 per cent over the first three months of the year, Air Canada was down just 2.4 per cent. Since the United States and Israel attacked Iran at the end of February, the price of jet fuel has nearly doubled -- and could shred the industry's quarterly financial forecasts. Rising fuel prices are pushing airlines to either swallow the additional cost or raise prices, creating mayhem for anyone trying to figure out the likely impact on profits. Jet fuel accounts for about 27 per cent of a North American airline's revenues, on average. Air Canada's fourth-quarter results, released in February, showed net income rebounded to $296-million. That is looking like old news, though. Still, Air Canada is a beaten-up stock that could reward risk-averse investors who expect that the conflict in Iran will end very soon.