Ryanair's Traffic Numbers for February 2026 Improve Year Over Year

Ryanair Holdings RYAAY, a European carrier, reported solid traffic numbers for February 2026, driven by upbeat air-travel demand.

The number of passengers transported on Ryanair flights was 13.3 million in February 2026, reflecting a 6% year-over-year increase. Apart from a year-over-year surge, RYAAY’s traffic in February was much more than the January reading of 12.7 million, highlighting continued momentum from the beginning of the year.

Ryanair’s load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) remained flat year over year at 92% in February 2026, reflecting stable and consistent demand for the carrier’s services. But it improved sequentially from the load factor of 91% reported in January 2026.

RYAAY operated more than 75,000 flights in February 2026. This marks an improvement from 73,000 flights operated in January2026, reflecting expanded capacity to meet strong passenger demand.

We would like to remind investors that Ryanair carried 200.2 million passengers (traffic up 9% year over year) in its fiscal year ending March 2025, positioning itself as the first European airline to reach 200 million passengers in a single year. As a result, RYAAY is now the world’s leading low-fare airline in terms of passenger traffic, with low fares and reduced costs acting as the main catalyst. During the first nine months of fiscal 2026, RYAAY’s traffic grew 4% year over year to 166.5 million passengers.

Given the aforesaid encouraging backdrops, Ryanair has unveiled its raised traffic outlook for fiscal 2026 (concurrent with its third-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings release on Jan. 26, 2026). Ryanair now expects its fiscal 2026 traffic to grow 4% to 208 million passengers (prior view: 207 million), owing to earlier than expected Boeing BA deliveries and solid demand during the first nine months of fiscal 2026.

RYAAY’s Zacks Rank & Price Performance

RYAAY currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Shares of RYAAY have gained 27.8% over the past year, outperforming the 14.4% surge of the Zacks Airline industry.

RYAAY Stock One-Year Price Comparison

Stocks to Consider

Investors interested in the Transportation sector may also consider Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) and LATAM Airlines Group LTM.

Southwest Airlines presently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Southwest Airlines has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the current year. The company has an encouraging earnings surprise history. Its earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters (missed the mark in the remaining quarter), delivering an average beat of 253.92%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LUV’s 2026 earnings has moved 43.7% north in the past 90 days. Shares of Southwest Airlines have gained 59.5% over the past year.

LTM presently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). LTM has an expected earnings growth rate of 25.66% for the current year. The company has a solid earnings surprise history. Its earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average beat of 36.13%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LTM’s 2026 earnings has moved 7.06% north in the past 60 days. LTM shares have gained 52.1% in the past year.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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