On April 9, Delta Air Lines DAL reported better-than-expected revenues and earnings per share for the first quarter of 2025 despite the tariff-induced uncertainty. Given the current uncertain scenario, DAL decided against reaffirming its 2025 financial guidance.

JetBlue Airways JBLU was also in the news due to its decision to add two nonstop routes to expand its service at Fort Lauderdale. Mexican carrier Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación VLRS or Volaris reported a year-over-year increase in revenue passenger miles (RPMs: a measure of air traffic) for March.

Driven by the increase in international operations, Latin American carrier LATAM Airlines Group LTM reported a year-over-year increase in revenue passenger-kilometers (RPK: a measure of air traffic) for March. Alaska Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alaska Air Group ALK, was also in the news due to its decision to invest in Loft Dynamics, a company specializing in virtual flight training. Through this move, Alaska Air aims to revolutionize pilot training. 

Read the last Airline Roundup here.

Recap of the Recent Most Important Stories

1.  Delta reported first-quarter 2025 earnings (excluding 9 cents from non-recurring items) of 46 cents per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 40 cents. Earnings increased 2.2% on a year-over-year basis due to low fuel costs. Revenues in the March-end quarter were $14.04 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $13.81 billion and increasing 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) increased 3.3% year over year to $13 billion. 

Delta expects second-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share in the $1.7-$2.3 range. The adjusted operating margin is expected in the 11-14% band. Revenues on an adjusted basis are expected to be down 2% to up 2% year over year.

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

2. In response to customer demand, JetBlue has decided to resume service between Fort Lauderdale and Philadelphia and between Fort Lauderdale and Guayaquil, Ecuador, beginning this summer. Flights connecting Fort Lauderdale and Philadelphia will operate twice daily from July 3. Meanwhile, flights between Fort Lauderdale and Guayaquil will operate once a day from July 17. Flights on both routes will be operated by JetBlue’s Airbus A320 aircraft, equipped with all modern facilities.

These new routes build on JetBlue’s continued investment in South Florida, where the low-cost airline has increased departures by 6% year over year. The resumption of the two routes highlights JetBlue’s commitment to meeting customer demand and seizing strategic opportunities. These routes were paused during a broader network optimization.

3. For March, Volaris reported a 10.9% year-over-year increase in consolidated capacity (measured in available seat miles). The load factor (% of seats filled by passengers) decreased 2.4 percentage points to 84.4% on a consolidated basis. The metric fell as the increase in consolidated traffic (7.8%) was less than the increase in consolidated capacity. During the month, Volaris transported 2.6 million passengers, up 12.3% year over year.

On the domestic front, revenue per mile (RPM) and available seat miles (ASMs) increased 9.9% and 13.3%, respectively, from March 2024 levels. The domestic load factor in March was 89.4%, a decrease of 2.8 percentage points from year-ago levels. In international markets, RPM increased 4.6% year over year, while ASM rose 7.6% year over year.

4. For March, LATAM Airlines reported a 7.2% year-over-year increase in consolidated capacity, measured in available seat kilometers. LTM’s revenue passenger kilometers increased 5.6% year over year despite the impact of the carnival holidays on Brazil’s domestic segment. The carnival took place in the month of March in 2025, whereas it was celebrated in February in 2024, affecting year-over-year comparability. Although traffic improved on a year-over-year basis, it failed to outpace capacity expansion. As a result, the load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) fell to 81.9% from 83.9% a year ago.

5. In a bid to revolutionize pilot training by leveraging extended reality technology, Alaska Air took a stake in Loft Dynamics, which is headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, with an office in Santa Monica, CA. Through this investment, made through Alaska Star Ventures, ALK intends to develop the first hyper-realistic, full-motion Boeing 737 virtual reality simulator.

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 increased by 2.6% to $59.58 as most airline stocks traded in the green over the past week. The upside followed President Donald Trump's announcement that he would pause the reciprocal import taxes for 90 days. Over the past six months, the NYSE ARCA Airline Index has decreased 16.5%.

What’s Next in the Airline Space?

Amid the tariff-induced uncertainties, first-quarter 2025 earnings reports of many airlines are expected in the coming days. For example, Alaska Air is scheduled to report quarterly results on April 23. While its top line is likely to have been hurt by the slowdown in domestic air travel demand, the bottom line is expected to have been boosted by reduced fuel costs.

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

JetBlue Airways Corporation (JBLU) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (ALK) : Free Stock Analysis Report

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (LTM) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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

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

Zacks Investment Research