LATAM Airlines Group (LTM reported a year-over-year increase in revenue passenger-kilometers (RPK: a measure of air traffic) for September 2026.
LATAM Airlines reported a 7.7% year-over-year increase in consolidated capacity, measured in available seat-kilometers (ASK). This uptick was driven by an 11.1% increase in domestic operations of the affiliates in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, a 7.8% surge in international operations and a 5.8% increase in domestic capacity offered by LATAM Airlines Brazil.
LTM’s consolidated traffic, measured in RPK, grew 6.2% year over year, owing to growth across all segments.
Although traffic has improved year over year, it has failed to outpace capacity expansion. As a result, the consolidated load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) fell 1.2 percentage points year over year to 83.1%.
In September 2026, LATAM Airlines transported 7.57 million passengers, a surge of 3.7% year over year. So far this year, LATAM Airlines has transported 67.51 million passengers across its network, reflecting an increase of 4.7% year over year.
LATAM Airlines currently sports a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
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September 2026 Traffic of Other Airline Companies
Apart from LATAM Airlines, other airline companies that have reported traffic numbers for September 2026 are Copa Holdings, S.A. CPA, Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion VLRS and Ryanair Holdings RYAAY.
Copa Holdings
Copa Holdings reported robust traffic numbers for September 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 September.
To match the demand swell, CPA is increasing its capacity. In September, available seat miles (a measure of capacity) increased 15.7% year over year. RPM also improved 17.1% year over year. Since traffic growth outpaced capacity expansion, the load factor (the percentage of seats filled by passengers) rose to 87.9% from 86.9% in September 2025.
Volaris
Mexican carrier, Volaris reported a year-over-year increase in revenue passenger miles (RPMs), a measure of air traffic, for September.
VLRS reported a 1.9% year-over-year increase in consolidated capacity (measured in available seat miles).Consolidated traffic, measured in RPM, grew 3.1% year over year. Since traffic growth has outpaced capacity expansion, the load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) rose 1 percentage point year over year to 84.4%.
On the domestic front, RPMs decreased 3.8% and ASMs (Available Seat Miles) fell 3.2% from the September2025 levels. The domestic load factor in Septemberwas 88.2%, a decline of 0.6 percentage points from the year-ago levels.
Internationally, RPM increased 14.2% year over year, while ASM rose 8.8% year over year. Since traffic growth outpaced capacity expansion, the international load factor increased 3.8 percentage points on a year-over-year basis to 79.8%.
During September 2026, VLRS transported 2.47 million passengers, representing a 4.2% year-over-year increase.
Ryanair Holdings
European carrier, Ryanair, reported solid traffic numbers for September 2026, driven by upbeat air-travel demand. The number of passengers transported on Ryanair flights was 20.4 million in September 2026, reflecting a 4% year-over-year increase. The September load factor of 94% remained flat on a year-over-year basis, reflecting consistent passenger demand for the airline's services.
RYAAY operated more than 111,700 flights in September 2026. However, the airline company had canceled more than 1,000 flights because of another UK air traffic control (ATC) system collapse, Belgian ATC strikes, and Mt. Etna eruptions.
Although September 2026 traffic numbers reflect year-over-year growth, they could not surpass its prior months' figures. Ryanair’s encouraging monthly traffic numbers reflected steady growth from the beginning of the year through August 2026.
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LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (LTM): Free Stock Analysis Report
Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYAAY): Free Stock Analysis Report
Copa Holdings, S.A. (CPA): 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).