Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ:ALGT) reported a decline in load factor (% of seats filled with passengers) for February. The key metric decreased as traffic growth was outpaced by capacity expansion in the month.
Traffic for the total system (scheduled service and fixed fee contract) — measured in revenue passenger miles (RPMs) — inched up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis to 958.24 million. System capacity, calculated in available seat miles (ASMs), expanded 3% to 1.17 billion in the month. Load factor contracted 60 basis points year over year to 81.6%.
Allegiant transported 1.02 million passengers in February, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 2.1%. Its system-wide average fuel cost per gallon was approximately $2.01 in the month, lower than $2.07 last December.
While departures rose 2% (systemwide) to 7,559, average stage length (total aircraft miles flown by the number of aircraft departures) dipped 0.8% to 903 miles. The average fuel cost per gallon during the month was estimated at $2.17.
The traffic report apart, Allegiant was recently in news regarding the ‘agreement in principle’ inked with International Brotherhood of Teamsters — the union representing its 34 flight dispatchers. This provisional deal will now be voted upon. The ratification procedure is expected to take place by Apr 30, 2019 (read more: Allegiant Inks Tentative Labor Deal: Ratification to Succeed?).
Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks
Allegiant carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Some other top-ranked stocks in the same space are Azul (NYSE:AZUL) , SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) and China Southern (NYSE:SO) Airlines Company Limited (NYSE:ZNH) , each flaunting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Shares of Azul, SkyWest and China Southern Airlines have rallied more than 29%, 13% and 17%, respectively, in the past three months.
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Allegiant Travel Company (ALGT): Free Stock Analysis Report
China Southern Airlines Company Limited (ZNH): Free Stock Analysis Report
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AZUL SA (AZUL): Free Stock Analysis Report
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