** Shares of U.S. airlines gain on hopes of potential end to federal government shutdown

** United Airlines UAL.O climbs most, with 1.9% rise premarket, followed by Delta DAL.N and American Airlines AAL.O, both up 1.4%; Alaska Air ALK.N rises 1%, while Southwest LUV.N gains 0.5%

** The U.S. Senate voted late on Sunday to advance a bill to end the government shutdown

** Should the Senate pass the bill, the package must still be approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and sent to President Donald Trump for his signature, which could take several days

** Analysts tracking airline stocks rate LUV "hold" on average, and "buy" for rest - data compiled by LSEG

** Up to Friday's close, UAL is the only airline stock in the green, with 0.3% YTD gain; rest down between 2.7% and ~34% this year

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru)

((Nandan.Mandayam@thomsonreuters.com; Mobile: +91 9591011727;))