Volaris reports 2.5 million passengers for September, international traffic up 14%

Volaris flew 2.5 million passengers in September, a month in which international traffic again outpaced its home market in Mexico.

Capacity measured in available seat miles rose 1.9% year on year, while revenue passenger miles grew 3.1%, lifting the consolidated load factor by one percentage point to 84.4%. The two markets moved in opposite directions: domestic Mexican traffic fell 3.8%, and international revenue passenger miles climbed 14.2%.

Over the full third quarter the picture was different. Capacity grew 11.1%, split almost evenly between a 11.0% rise domestically and 11.2% internationally. The quarterly load factor came in at 85.7%, up 1.3 percentage points.

President and CEO Enrique Beltranena said the airline chose to moderate its capacity growth in September, with capacity 22% below the summer peak. According to Volaris, that more disciplined deployment of capacity helped support load factors and unit revenues at a time of elevated fuel prices.

September therefore marks a clear slowdown in capacity expansion next to the third quarter as a whole, while demand kept growing faster than the seats on offer. International traffic remained the main driver of growth, offsetting softer demand inside Mexico.