** Major U.S. industrial firms are set to end higher in 2025

** YTD, GE Aerospace GE.N up 87% and 3M MMM.N up 25%; Honeywell HON.O down 7.74%

** Strong air travel demand, as well as delays in production of new planes, has forced airlines to keep flying older, less fuel-efficient jets and spend billions on maintenance, aiding firms like GE

** MMM raised its annual profit forecast in October this year, banking on higher-margin products and tighter cost controls

** Earlier this month, HON said it expects to record a one-time charge of about $470 million in Q4 related to a potential settlement in litigation linked to private aviation company Flexjet

** Earlier this year, Honeywell said it would break up its large conglomerate structure to create three independent companies focused on automation, aerospace and advanced materials

** S&P 500 Industrial Conglomerates (Industry) .SPLRCICON up 2.77% YTD

(Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy)

((Anshuman.Tripathy@thomsonreuters.com))