In the past week, Allegiant Travel Company (ALGT Quick QuoteALGT - Free Report) reported a double-digit increase in traffic for July. Delta Air Lines (DAL Quick QuoteDAL - Free Report) also featured in the news, courtesy of its decision to add two routes to European destinations from Boston as it aims to bolster its European network.  Meanwhile, Frontier Airlines (ULCC Quick QuoteULCC - Free Report) plans to add 20 new routes to its schedule from late fall, aiming to strengthen its position in the ultra-low-cost segment.

Alaska Air Group (ALK Quick QuoteALK - Free Report) , the parent company of Hawaiian Airlines, meanwhile, signed an environment-friendly deal with Cosmo Oil Marketing. An expansion-related update was also available from Southwest Airlines (LUV Quick QuoteLUV - Free Report) over the past week.

Recap of the Most Recent Important Stories

1.  At Allegiant Travel, the July scheduled traffic (measured in revenue passenger miles) rose 10.3% from the July 2024 levels. Capacity (measured in available seat miles) for scheduled service rose 11.5% year over year. Although traffic improved on a year-over-year basis, it failed to outpace capacity expansion. As a result, the load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) in July 2025 declined to 86.6% from 87.5% a year ago.

For the total system (including scheduled service and fixed-fee contracts), Allegiant carried 10.1% more passengers in July 2025 than in the same period of the previous year. System-wide capacity improved 10.8% in July 2025 on a year-over-year basis.

2. Expanding Boston’s gateway to Europe, Delta announced that it will start new nonstop service from Boston to Madrid and Nice. While flights on the Boston-Madrid route will start operating from May 16, 2026, those connecting Boston and Nice will take to the skies from May 17. While the Boston-Madrid flights will operate daily, the ones on the Boston-Nice route will operate three times a week.

DAL will utilize its Airbus A330-900neo jets to operate on both routes. Following the addition of the new routes, Delta will serve 12 European destinations from Boston. DAL has been constantly looking to expand its presence in Boston, having nearly tripled its service in Boston in a span of two decades. Apart from the introduction of the new routes, DAL, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), has also decided to expand its service on the Barcelona-Boston and Milan-Boston routes next year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

3. Following the sales agreement between Alaska Air and Cosmo Oil Marketing, Hawaiian Airlines intends to incorporate sustainable aviation fuel on flights between Osaka, Japan and Honolulu, Hawaii. Fuel deliveries at Kansai International Airport will mark the first time Hawaiian Airlines has introduced SAF. The use of SAF has the potential to reduce life-cycle carbon emissions by up to 80% compared to traditional jet fuel. Apart from highlighting ALK’s environment-friendly approach, the move is also aimed at strengthening tourism between Japan and Hawaii. Additional traffic on this tourist-friendly route is likely to buoy ALK’s top line.

4. Southwest Airlines has extended its flight schedule through June 3, 2026. The extended schedule includes more routes to new places. As part of the expansion, Southwest Airlines will operate flights to the island of St. Maarten, beginning April 7, 2026. The addition of St. Maarten marks LUV’s first new international destination since 2021. St. Maarten comprises two parts: the Netherlands' constituent country of Sint Maarten, alongside the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Martin. Southwest Airlines also announced an interline partnership with EVA Air, a subsidiary of the Evergreen Group, to expand seamless travel between Asia and North America. EVA Air is the third airline partner to be announced by the Dallas-based LUV. 

5. Frontier Airlines has decided to bring its service to the top 20 metro areas in the United States. As part of the expansion exercise, ULCC has decided to add 20 new routes from Detroit, Houston, Baltimore, Fort Lauderdale, Charlotte and Dallas. Further growth is expected at ULCC next year. With many of the new routes overlapping with Spirit Airlines’ key markets, ULCC is likely to be a major gainer if Spirit Airlines collapses, according to a CNBC report. Spirit Airlines filed for bankruptcy last year. Despite an initial restructuring, the situation did not improve with Spirit warning last month that it may not survive another year without further cash infusions.

Airline Stocks’ Performance

The following table shows the price movement of the major airline players over the past week and during the last six months.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The NYSE ARCA Airline Index increased by 2% to $67.88 as most airline stocks traded in the green last week. Over the past six months, the NYSE ARCA Airline Index has inched up by 2.2%.

What’s Next in the Airline Space?

With carriers like DAL and LUV, scheduled to participate in the Morgan Stanley Laguna Conference on Sept. 11, 2025, investors will keenly await updates. A few August traffic reports are also expected in the coming days.