Airlines Post Impressive September Traffic Numbers: An Analysis
The Zacks Airline industry has been benefiting from buoyant air-travel demand, following the easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions and the reopening of the global economy. The industry is witnessing a solid recovery in demand for domestic as well as international flights. People are again booking flights, thereby leading to higher passenger revenues, which contribute to the bulk of most airlines’ top lines.
Driven by the buoyant scenario with respect to air traffic, Copa Holdings CPA, Azul S.A. AZUL, Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes GOL and Ryanair Holdings RYAAY reported impressive traffic numbers for September. Each of these companies presently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Let’s Take an In-depth Look at These Companies’ September Traffic Reports
Driven by high passenger volumes, Copa Holdings’ revenue passenger miles (a measure of traffic) rose in double digits in September on a year-over-year basis. To match the demand swell, CPA is increasing its capacity. In September, available seat miles (a measure of capacity) increased 13.6% year over year. Revenue passenger miles increased 14.1%. With traffic growth outpacing capacity expansion, the load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) improved to 87.3% from 86.9% in September 2022.
Brazilian carrier, Azul reported double-digit year-over-year increases in traffic and capacity for September 2023.
In September, AZUL’s consolidated revenue passenger kilometers (a measure of air traffic) and available seat kilometers (a measure of capacity) increased 18.7% and 15%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis. With consolidated passenger traffic growth outpacing capacity expansion, the load factor (the percentage of seats filled by passengers) improved to 81.7% from 79.1% in September 2022.
On the domestic front, with revenue passenger kilometers (10.6%) outpacing available seat kilometers (7.4%), the load factor increased to 79.4% from 77.1% in September 2022.
Internationally, revenue passenger kilometers and available seat kilometers increased 51.1% and 49.7%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis. The load factor increased to 89.1% from 88.3% in September 2022.
Gol Linhas reported double-digit year-over-year increases in traffic and capacity for September 2023.
In September, consolidated revenue passenger kilometers (a measure of air traffic) and available seat kilometers (a measure of capacity) increased 6.7% and 4.7%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis. With traffic growth outpacing capacity expansion, the load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) for September 2023 improved to 83.3% from 81.7% in September 2022. The number of flight departures at GOL in September registered an 11.2% year-over-year increase. Consolidated passengers on board rose 14.1% year over year.
On the domestic front, with revenue passenger kilometers (8.4%) outpacing available seat kilometers (6.1%), the load factor increased to 83.4% from 81.7% in September 2022.
Internationally, the load factor increased to 82.2% from 82.0% in September 2022.
Ryanair, a European carrier, also reported impressive traffic numbers for September 2023, driven by upbeat air-travel demand. The number of passengers ferried on RYAAY flights in September was 17.4 million, implying that 9% more passengers flew than a year ago. The load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) was high at 94% in September 2023. The reading was similar in the year-ago period. RYAAY operated more than 97,350 flights in September 2023.
Year-to-date Price Performance
In fact, air traffic has been buoyant throughout the year, leading to solid year-to-date price appreciation in the above stocks.
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Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYAAY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. (GOL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Copa Holdings, S.A. (CPA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
AZUL (AZUL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
