In the past week, Latin American carrier Azul AZUL reported disappointing results for the fourth quarter of 2024, with its earnings and revenues lagging expectations. Mexican carrier Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación or Volaris VLRS also reported lower-than-expected earnings and revenues in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Allegiant Travel ALGT reported upbeat traffic numbers for January, driven by the buoyant air travel demand scenario. An expansion-related update was also available from JetBlue Airways JBLU in the past week.

Read the last Airline Roundup here.

Recap of Most Important Airline Stock Stories

1. Azul reported fourth-quarter 2024 earnings of 9 cents per share, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 12 cents. The bottom line, however, improved by more than 100% on a year-over-year basis. Total revenues of $948.9 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $957.6 million. 

With more people taking to the skies, Azul’s passenger revenues, contributing 92.7% to the top line, grew 10% year over year. AZUL’s fourth-quarter 2024 revenues benefit from a healthy demand environment, robust ancillary revenues and the outstanding performance of its business units. Azul still expects 2025 EBITDA to be R$7.4 billion.

2. At Allegiant, scheduled traffic (measured in revenue passenger miles) in January 2025 rose 7.4% from the year-ago levels. Capacity (measured in available seat miles) for scheduled service jumped 9.9% year over year. Despite this traffic growth, capacity expanded even more significantly by 9.9%, which led to a slight decline in the load factor (% of seats filled by passengers) to 78.8%, down from 80.7% the previous year.

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

3. Volaris reported fourth-quarter 2024 earnings per share of 39 cents, below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 55 cents. Total operating revenues declined 7% year over year to $835 million in the final quarter of 2024. During the fourth quarter, approximately 34 aircraft were on the ground as Volaris faced challenges due to Pratt & Whitney engine inspections. As a result of the grounding, available seat miles (ASMs, a measure of capacity) decreased by 5%. Non-fuel unit costs increased 17% year over year. VLRS aims at a capacity growth of around 13% in 2025, with approximately 40% allocated to the international market. 

4. In a bid to cater to the buoyant air travel demand scenario, JBLU intends to launch a new, daily summer-seasonal service between Manchester-Boston Regional Airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. The service will be available starting June 12, 2025. This route will be the only nonstop air service between Manchester, New Hampshire and New York City. The customer-friendly move offers travelers in the region a seamless connection to JetBlue’s extensive JFK focus city network and its global airline partners. This, in turn, provides greater access to top domestic and international destinations.

Airline Stocks 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 NYSE ARCA Airline Index declined 7.4% to $66.43 as most airline stocks traded in the red over the past week. Over the past six months, the NYSE ARCA Airline Index has increased 28.4%.

What’s Next in the Airline Stock Space?

European carrier Ryanair Holdings RYAAY is expected to reveal its February traffic results in the coming days. Upbeat air-travel demand is likely to result in higher passenger revenues, boosting results. Load factor (% of seats filled by passengers) is likely to have improved on a year-over-year basis in February owing to upbeat traffic.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYAAY) : Free Stock Analysis Report

JetBlue Airways Corporation (JBLU) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Allegiant Travel Company (ALGT) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. (VLRS) : Free Stock Analysis Report

AZUL (AZUL) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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

Zacks Investment Research