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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Azul, American Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – February 28, 2022 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Azul (AZUL - Free Report) , American Airlines (AAL - Free Report) , JetBlue Airways (JBLU - Free Report) and Spirit Airlines (SAVE - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Airline Stock Roundup: AAL, JBLU and More

In the past week, Azul reported a wider-than-expected loss per share for fourth-quarter 2021. However, the top line not only beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate but also improved in excess of 100% year over year, driven by the improvement in air-travel demand in Brazil. On the non-earnings front, American Airlines was the primary newsmaker when it announced the decision to reduce international flying this summer due to delivery delays of Boeing 787-8 jets.

Meanwhile, an expansion-related update was available fromJetBlue Airways as air-travel demand improved in the United States. Buoyed by the same factor, Spirit Airlines also announced its intention of launching an additional route this summer.

Recap of the Latest Top Stories

1. Azul, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), incurred a loss (excluding 69 cents from non-recurring items) of 58 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2021, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 53 cents. The amount of loss, however, narrowed year over year. Total revenues of $668.4 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $628.7 million and increased more than 100% year over year as air-travel demand improved, courtesy of widespread vaccination programs in Brazil.

With more and more people taking to the skies, Azul’s passenger revenues, accounting for 91% of the top line, soared more than 100% year over year. Cargo and other revenues surged 30.8% year over year, primarily driven by upbeat demand for Azul’s logistics solutions. Consolidated traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs), climbed 49.2% (up 46.9% domestic & 83.1% international) year over year.

Consolidated available seat kilometers (ASK), which gauges an airline's passenger-carrying capacity, advanced 46.5% from the same period last year with a 48.6% rise in international capacity. The same expanded 46.3% on the domestic front. Since traffic surge was less than the amount of capacity expansion, load factor (percentage of seats filled with passengers) improved 1.5 percentage points to 82.2%.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

2. With Boeing likely to deliver only 10 787 Dreamliner jets to American Airlines in 2022 due to production issues compared to the original plan of 13, AAL is delaying the launch of one service, temporarily suspending some flights and reducing flight frequency on one route.

Despite reducing its international schedule this summer, American Airlines will offer nearly 6,000 peak-day departures. In a SEC filing, AAL said, “Our 787-8 aircraft are an essential part of our fleet. And despite the ongoing delay, we still have tremendous confidence in the aircraft and will continue to work with Boeing on their delivery.”

3. In a bid to expand its network, JetBlue launched non-stop flights between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Puerto Vallarta’s Gustavo Diaz Ordaz International Airport, expanding its presence in Mexico. The Puerto Vallarta service, which began on Feb 19, will operate four times a week. Puerto Vallarta is the third destination being served by JetBlue in Mexico.

JetBlue was in the news recently when it decided to expand its fleet by ordering more Airbus A220s. JetBlue’s fleet-related news was reported in detail in the previous week’s write-up.

4. Owing to upbeat air-travel demand in the United States, Spirit Airlines reportedly intends to launch nonstop seasonal flights connecting Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport and Myrtle Beach, SC, this summer. The flights will operate from May 27. Initially, they will ply on Fridays and Mondays. However, from Jun 17, the service that will run through Labor Day weekend will be available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Evidently, Myrtle Beach is SAVE’s ninth non-stop destination from Milwaukee.

What's Next in the Airline Space?

With the earnings season over in the airline space, stay tuned for the usual news updates in the space.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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