Yahoo Finance Airline Stock Roundup: RYAAY Reports Upbeat Traffic, DAL to Restart Nigeria Flights
In the past week, Ryanair Holdings RYAAY reported upbeat traffic numbers for the month of April, driven by upbeat air travel demand. In a bid to upgrade its network, Delta Air Lines DAL intends to resume flights to Nigeria from December. In a customer friendly move, DAL has decided to upgrade its fleet for its service to Ghana and South Africa. Southwest Airlines LUV was also in the news courtesy of its customer-friendly decision to extend its flight schedule.
Recap of the Recent Most Important Stories
1 The number of passengers transported on Ryanair flights was 17.3 million in April 2024, reflecting an 8% year-over-year increase. RYAAY’s traffic in April was much more than the March reading of 13.6 million. The April traffic figure was impressive despite almost 700 flights being canceled due to the Israel/Gaza conflict. More than 340 flights were canceled due to the French ATC (air traffic control) strike on Apr 25. The April load factor (% of seats filled by passengers) was an impressive 92%. Notably, RYAAY operated 98,400 flights in April.
2. Delta has decided to relaunch services to Lagos, Nigeria from New York-JFK on Dec 1. DAL aims to reinforce its position as the largest U.S. carrier to Africa this winter through this move. Initially, flights on this route will operate daily before shifting to three times per week on Jan 16, 2025. Notably, DAL carries more than half a million customers between the United States and Africa every year on more than 34 weekly flights.
3 In March, Allegiant Travel’s ALGT scheduled traffic (measured in revenue passenger miles) fell 1.2% from March 2023 levels. Capacity (measured in available seat miles) for scheduled service improved 1.4% from March 2023 reading. The load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) in March 2024 came in at 85.9%, down 2.3 points year over year since capacity expanded, whereas traffic declined. Total departures (scheduled services) declined 0.4% in March 2024 from its year-ago levels. Moreover, its average stage length (miles) improved 1.5%.
For the total system (including scheduled service and fixed fee contract), Allegiant carried 1.3% less passengers in March 2024 from the year-ago period’s level. Fuel price per gallon in March is estimated to have been $3.03
4. Southwest Airlines has extended its flight schedule through Mar 5, 2025, to allow customers to plan and book travel well into the new year. Per Ryan Green, LUV’s executive vice president & chief commercial officer, "We're positioning ourselves as a competitive choice in longer-term travel planning by displaying a greater depth of our schedule alongside our unique flexibility." LUV has historically extended its booking window by 180 to 250 days.
Southwest Airlines, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), was in the news recently when it reported a wider-than-expected loss for first-quarter 2024 due to high costs. The story was covered in detail in the previous week’s write-up.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Performance
The following table shows the price movement of the major airline players over the past week and during the last six months.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The table above shows that most airline stocks traded in the red over the past week. The NYSE ARCA Airline Index decreased 1% to $62.18. Over the course of the past six months, the NYSE ARCA Airline Index has gained 23%.
What’s Next in the Airline Space?
Allegiant is scheduled to release first-quarter 2024 results on May 7. We expect ALGT's results to be aided by high passenger revenues, owing to upbeat air travel demand. However, high labor costs are likely to have dented the performance.
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Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYAAY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Allegiant Travel Company (ALGT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
