Mexican carrier Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación VLRS, or Volaris, recently reported a year-over-year increase in revenue passenger miles (RPMs: a measure of air traffic) for May.
Volaris reported a 9% year-over-year increase in consolidated capacity (measured in available seat miles). The load factor (% of seats filled by passengers) decreased 4.3 percentage points to 81.8% on a consolidated basis. The metric fell as the increase in consolidated traffic (3.5%) was less than the increase in consolidated capacity. During May, Volaris transported 2.5 million passengers, up 4.2% year over year.
On the domestic front, RPMs and ASMs (Available Seat Miles) increased 5.7% and 10.4%, respectively, from the May 2024 levels. The domestic load factor in May was 86.5%, a decrease of 3.8 percentage points from the year-ago levels. In international markets, RPM decreased 0.2% year over year, while ASM rose 6.8% year over year. The international load factor decreased by 5.2 percentage points on a year-over-year basis to 74.7%.
Apart from VLRS, other airline companies like Ryanair Holdings RYAAY have also reported May traffic numbers.
Ryanair reported solid traffic numbers for May 2025, driven by upbeat air travel demand. The number of passengers transported on Ryanair flights was 18.9 million in May 2025, reflecting a 4% year-over-year increase. The May load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) of 95% was higher than the year-ago reading of 94%, reflecting consistent passenger demand for the airline's services.
VLRS’ Zacks Rank
VLRS currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
A Stock to Consider
Investors interested in the Transportation sector may consider Copa Holdings CPA. CPA, based in Panama City, Panama, is gaining from upbeat passenger volumes. Driven by the buoyant air travel demand scenario, RPMs increased 10.1% year over year in the first quarter of 2025.
Despite uncertainties, traffic growth has remained intact at Copa Holdings. With passenger volumes likely to remain strong, we anticipate passenger revenues to increase 4% in 2025 on a year-over-year basis.
CPA currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
CPA has an expected earnings growth rate of 14.3% for the current year. The company has an impressive earnings surprise history. Its earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average beat of 5.5%. Shares of CPA have risen 24.2% year to date.
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Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYAAY): Free Stock Analysis Report Copa Holdings, S.A. (CPA): Free Stock Analysis Report Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. (VLRS): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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