GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. (NYSE:GOL) reported air traffic figures for March 2019. Traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), climbed 5.5% to 3.14 billion. While international RPK rose 20.5%, domestic RPK grew 3.2% in the month.
On a year-over-year basis, consolidated capacity (or available seat kilometers/ASKs) was up 4.7% to 3.96 billion, primarily on 24.3% expansion in international capacity. Moreover, the carrier witnessed a 6.4% increase in passenger count during March.
Load factor — percentage of seats filled by passengers — inched up to 79.2% from 78.6% a year ago as traffic growth exceeded capacity expansion.
At the end of the first three months of 2019, RPK rose 6.2% while ASK ascended 5%. Also, load factor for the period improved 100 basis points. However, the company recorded a 1% dip in the volume of departures whereas the number of seats occupied by passengers inched up 3.2%.
The carrier’s impressive traffic figures are a result of its strong travel demand. Owing to this tailwind, passenger revenues increased 11.2% in 2018. Moreover, passenger unit revenues (PRASK) augmented 8% in the year while total unit revenues (RASK) climbed 7.3%.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
GOL Linhas carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the same space are SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) , Swire Pacific Ltd. (OTC:SWRAY) and Azul (NYSE:AZUL) . While SkyWest and Swire Pacific sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Azul carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Shares of SkyWest, Swire Pacific and Azul have rallied more than 28%, 22% and 8%, respectively, on a year-to-date basis.
Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2019
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SkyWest, Inc. (SKYW): Free Stock Analysis Report
Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. (GOL): Free Stock Analysis Report
Swire Pacific Ltd. (SWRAY): Free Stock Analysis Report
AZUL SA (AZUL): Free Stock Analysis Report
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