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In the past week, Ryanair Holdings RYAAY, based in Ireland, came up with an encouraging update on passenger volumes for fiscal 2025 (ended March 31). In the process, the low-cost airline became the first European carrier to transport 200 million passengers in a year.
With the demand for long-haul travel remaining buoyant, much to the relief of U.S. carriers, United Airlines UAL has decided to add flights to various Pacific destinations. Alaska Airlines, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alaska Air Group ALK, will start a new nonstop service between Seattle and Seoul Incheon. An expansion update from American Airlines AAL was also available in the past week.
Southwest Airlines’ LUV outlook was downgraded by Fitch Ratings to a negative warning that its new policies could backfire. Reversing its long-standing free baggage policy, LUV recently announced that it will start charging customers (with some exceptions) to check bags. The news was covered in detail in the previous writeup.
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1. It is no secret that U.S. airlines are suffering big time due to the tariff-induced slowdown in domestic air travel demand. In this scenario, long-haul travel demand remains impressive. Taking advantage of the situation, United Airlines has decided to grow its Pacific flights. UAL has decided to introduce service to destinations like Thailand and Vietnam. The Chicago-based carrier positions itself as the first airline to provide nonstop service to Adelaide, Australia. Starting Dec. 11, 2025, UAL is expected to start its nonstop three-times-weekly seasonal service from San Francisco to Adelaide, Australia, targeting the Australian summer season.
UAL currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
2. Ryanair reported solid traffic numbers for March 2025, driven by upbeat air travel demand. The number of passengers transported on Ryanair flights was 15 million in March 2025, reflecting a 10% year-over-year increase. RYAAY’s traffic in March was higher than the February reading of 12.6 million and the January reading of 12.4 million.
The March load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) of 93% remained flat on a year-over-year basis, reflecting consistent passenger demand for the airline's services. The March load factor was higher than the load factor of 92% reported in February 2025 and 91% reported in January 2025. Notably, RYAAY operated more than 84,000 flights in March 2025.
3. In a bid to broaden its network, Alaska Airlines will start a new nonstop service between Seattle and Seoul Incheon. The service will commence on Sept. 12. Flights on this route will be operated by Hawaiian Airlines, which was acquired by Alaska Air last year.