Ryanair Holdings RYAAY, a European carrier, reported solid traffic numbers for February 2025, driven by upbeat air-travel demand.

The number of passengers transported on Ryanair flights was 12.6 million in February 2025, reflecting a 14% year-over-year increase. RYAAY’s traffic in February was higher than the January reading of 12.4 million.

The February load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) of 92% remained flat on a year-over-year basis. The figure was higher than the load factor of 91% reported in January 2025.

Notably, RYAAY operated more than 71,360 flights in February 2025. This marks an improvement from the prior month wherein growth at RYAAY was hampered by 38 Boeing BA delayed deliveries.

Passenger volume has been robust at Ryanair following the end of the pandemic and normalization of economic activities. With travel bookings rising across the industry, passenger revenues at Ryanair are also rising. Because of this air-travel demand strength, RYAAY's traffic grew 9% in fiscal 2024. During the first nine months of fiscal 2025, traffic grew 9% year over year despite multiple Boeing delivery delays.

Given this encouraging backdrop, Ryanair expects its fiscal 2025 traffic to reach almost 200 million (+9%) passengers, subject to no further adverse news on Boeing delivery delays. This marks an improvement from the prior view of reaching 198-200 million passengers (+8%).

RYAAY’s Zacks Rank & Stock Price Performance

Currently, RYAAY carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

RYAAY shares have gained 10.8% so far this year, outperforming 9.1% growth of the airline transportation industry.

YTD RYAAY Stock Price Comparison

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Other Airline Picks

Investors interested in the Zacks Airline industry may also consider United Airlines UAL and SkyWest SKYW. Each stock currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

United Airlines has an expected earnings growth rate of 22.15% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UAL’s 2025 earnings per share has been revised 10.9% upward in the past 60 days.

UAL has an encouraging track record with respect to the earnings surprise, having surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters. The average beat is 22.93%. Shares of UAL have surged 102.6% in the past year.

SkyWest, founded in 1972, is based in St. George and operates regional jets for major U.S. airlines. SKYW’S track record of successfully meeting the requirements of each of its airline heavyweight partners bodes well for the company. Revenues from flying agreements (which account for the bulk of the top line) are impressive owing to SKYW’s above ability. Owing to an uptick in air travel demand, passenger volumes have been upbeat and are likely to increase going forward as well. This is likely to keep SKYW's top line in good shape.

SKYW has an impressive earnings surprise history, having outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 16.71%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SKYW’s 2025 earnings per share has been revised 7.9% upward in the past 60 days. SKYW has an expected earnings growth rate of 15.96% for the current year.

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The Boeing Company (BA) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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

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