In the past week, Copa Holdings CPA reported mixed results for the fourth quarter of 2024. While earnings per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate, revenues lagged the same.

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

In a bid to reduce costs, Southwest Airlines LUV announced that it will lay off roughly 1,750 employees in its leadership ranks. This will be the first job cut in the low-cost carrier’s history. On a somber note, a Delta Air Lines DAL flight crashed in Toronto. At least 18 people were injured due to the mishap. Meanwhile, Mexican carrier Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación or Volaris VLRS reported a year-over-year increase in revenue passenger miles (RPMs: a measure of air traffic) for the month of January.

Read the last Airline roundup here.

Recap of the Recent Most Important Stories

1.  Copa Holdings’fourth-quarter 2024 earnings per share of $3.99 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.84 but declined 10.7% year over year. Revenues of $877.1 million lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $880.1 million and fell 4.4% year over year due to a 4.8% decrease in passenger revenue.

CPA’s management now expects consolidated capacity to grow 7-8% year over year. Operating margin is expected to be in the range of 20-22%. RASM is now expected to be 11.3 cents.

CPA currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

2. Southwest Airlines has announced plans to lay off a section of its workforce. The move is part of the company’s transformational plan to simplify its organizational structure, stay competitive, reduce operating costs and improve efficiency. LUV’s lay-off plans are targeted toward corporate overhead and leadership positions. LUV aims to cut 15% of its corporate positions (which includes senior leadership and directors) by the end of the second quarter of 2025. LUV expects the layoffs to result in cost savings. The company estimates to save about $210 million this year and roughly $300 million in 2026.

3. On Feb. 17, 2025, a Delta plane crash-landed in Toronto. Fortunately, all 80 people on board survived. The incident occurred amid windy conditions following a snowstorm at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The plane flipped upside down during landing. The ill-fated flight took off from Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport.

4. In January, Volaris reported a 4.7% year-over-year increase in consolidated capacity (measured in available seat miles). The load factor (% of seats filled by passengers) decreased 1.5 percentage points to 86.6%. The load factor fell as the increase in consolidated traffic (2.9%) was less than the increase in consolidated capacity. Volaris expects total capacity to increase in the 13-15% band in 2025 from 2024 levels.

Airline Stocks Price Performance

The following table shows the stock 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 inched up 1% to $72.59. Over the past six months, the index has risen by 45%.

What’s Next in the Airline Space?

Latin American carrier Azul AZUL is scheduled to report fourth-quarter 2024 results on Feb. 24. Upbeat air travel demand is likely to result in higher passenger revenues, boosting the top line. High costs are likely to have hurt bottom-line performance.

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Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) : 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 Report

AZUL (AZUL) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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