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 February 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 February.
To match the demand swell, CPA is increasing its capacity. In February, available seat miles (a measure of capacity) increased 15.6% year over year. RPM improved 16.2% year over year. Since traffic growth outpaced capacity expansion, the load factor (the percentage of seats filled by passengers) rose to 87.1% from 86.7% in February 2025.
CPA currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
February 2026 Traffic of Other Airline Companies
Apart from LATAM Airlines, other airline companies that have reported traffic numbers for February 2026 are Ryanair Holdings RYAAY and LATAM Airlines Group (LTM.
European carrier, Ryanair reported solid traffic numbers for February 2026, driven by upbeat air-travel demand. The number of passengers transported on Ryanair flights was 13.3 million in February 2026, reflecting a 6% year-over-year increase. Apart from the year-over-year surge, RYAAY’s traffic in February was much more than the January reading of 12.7 million, highlighting continued momentum from the beginning of the year.
Ryanair’s load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) remained flat year over year at 92% in February 2026, reflecting stable and consistent demand for the carrier’s services. But it improved sequentially from the load factor of 91% reported in January 2026.
RYAAY operated more than 75,000 flights in February 2026. This marks an improvement from 73,000 flights operated in January2026, reflecting expanded capacity to meet strong passenger demand.
We would like to remind investors that Ryanair carried 200.2 million passengers (traffic up 9% year over year) in its fiscal year ending March 2025, positioning itself as the first European airline to reach 200 million passengers in a single year. As a result, RYAAY is now the world’s leading low-fare airline in terms of passenger traffic, with low fares and reduced costs acting as the main catalyst. During the first nine months of fiscal 2026, RYAAY’s traffic grew 4% year over year to 166.5 million passengers.
Given the aforesaid encouraging backdrops, Ryanair has unveiled its raised traffic outlook for fiscal 2026 (concurrent with its third-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings release on Jan. 26, 2026).
Ryanair now expects its fiscal 2026 traffic to grow 4% to 208 million passengers (prior view: 207 million), owing to earlier than expected Boeing BA deliveries and solid demand during the first nine months of fiscal 2026.
LATAM Airlines reported a 11.4% year-over-year increase in consolidated capacity, measured in available seat-kilometers (ASK). The uptick was driven by a 14.8% increase in international operations and a 12.5% increase in capacity in LATAM Airlines Brazil’s domestic market.
LTM’s consolidated traffic, measured in revenue passenger-kilometers (RPK), grew 14.4% year over year, owing to growth across all segments. International operations rose 18% with LATAM Airlines Brazil’s domestic market surging a 15.6% year-over-year increase.
Since traffic outpaced capacity expansion, the consolidated load factor for February 2026 rose to 85.6% from 83.3% in February 2025.
In February 2026, LATAM Airlines has transported 7.1 million passengers, an increase of 9.3% year over year. So far this year, LATAM Airlines transported 15.3 million passengers across its network, reflecting an increase of 9.2% year over year.
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The Boeing Company (BA): Free Stock Analysis Report
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LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (LTM): Free Stock Analysis Report
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