CPA's August 2026 Traffic Improves Y/Y, Load Factor Remains Flat
Copa Holdings, S.A.CPA, based in Panama City, Panama, is gaining from upbeat passenger volumes. The latest positive update from the Latin American carrier came when it reported robust traffic numbers for August 2026 on the back of upbeat air travel demand. Driven by high passenger volumes, revenue passenger miles (RPM: a measure of air traffic) improved on a year-over-year basis in August.
To match the demand swell, CPA is increasing its capacity. In August, available seat miles (a measure of capacity) increased 16.8% year over year. RPM also improved 16.8% year over year. Although traffic improved year over year, its growth rate remains flat with capacity expansion. As a result, the load factor (the percentage of seats filled by passengers) remained unchanged at 88.3% in August 2026.
CPA’s Zacks Rank & Price Performance
CPA currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here
Shares of Copa Holdings have gained 8.7% in the past year, outperforming the 3% loss of the Zacks Airline industry.
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August 2026 Traffic of Other Airline Companies
Apart from Copa Holdings, other airline companies that have reported traffic numbers for August 2026 are LATAM Airlines Group (LTM, Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion VLRSand Ryanair Holdings RYAAY.
LATAM Airlines
LATAM Airlines reported a 7% year-over-year increase in consolidated capacity, measured in available seat-kilometers (ASK). The uptick was driven by a 7.3% increase in international operations, a 6.7% surge in domestic operations of LATAM Airlines Brazil and 6.6% growth in domestic operations of the affiliates in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
LTM’s consolidated traffic, measured in revenue passenger-kilometers (RPK), grew 4.7% year over year, owing to growth across all segments. International traffic climbed 5.8%, followed by 3.6% year-over-year traffic growth in LATAM Airlines Brazil’s domestic market and a 3.1% surge in the domestic markets of the affiliates in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
Although traffic has improved year over year, it has failed to outpace capacity expansion. As a result, the consolidated load factorfell 1.8 percentage points year over year to 83.5%.
In August 2026, LATAM Airlines transported 7.89 million passengers, a surge of 2.6% year over year. So far this year, LATAM Airlines has transported 59.93 million passengers across its network, reflecting an increase of 4.9% year over year.
Volaris
Mexican carrier, Volaris reported a year-over-year increase in RPMs in August.
VLRS reported a 15.8% year-over-year increase in consolidated capacity (measured in available seat miles).Consolidated traffic, measured in RPM, grew 15.4% year over year. Although traffic has improved year over year, it has failed to outpace capacity expansion. As a result, the load factorfell 0.3 percentage points year over year to 84.4%.
On the domestic front, RPMs increased 13.2% and ASMs (Available Seat Miles) increased 18.3% from the August 2025 levels. The domestic load factor in August was 86.4%, a decline of 3.8 percentage points from the year-ago levels.
Internationally, RPM increased 18.9% year over year, while ASM rose 12.6% year over year. Since traffic growth outpaced capacity expansion, the international load factor increased 4.3 percentage points on a year-over-year basis to 81.6%.
During August 2026, VLRS transported 3.19 million passengers, representing a 17.5% year-over-year increase.
Ryanair Holdings
European carrier, Ryanair, reported solid traffic numbers for August 2026, driven by upbeat air-travel demand. The number of passengers transported on Ryanair flights was 22.2 million in August 2026, reflecting a 6% year-over-year increase.
Apart from a year-over-year surge, RYAAY’s traffic in August came in line with the July reading of 22.2 million and has surpassed the June reading of 21.2 million, May reading of 20.7 million, April reading of 19.3 million, March reading of 15.8 million, the February reading of 13.3 million and the January reading of 12.7 million, highlighting continued momentum from the beginning of the year.
Ryanair’s load factor remained flat year over year as well as sequentially at 96% in August 2026, reflecting stable and consistent demand for the carrier’s services. It also improved from the load factor of 95% reported in June and May 2026, 93% reported in April and March 2026, 92% reported in February 2026 and 91% reported in January 2026.
RYAAY operated more than 1,20,500 flights in August 2026. However, more than 400 flights were canceled due to Mt. Etna volcanic eruptions.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
