Allegiant's July traffic rises, load factor falls

Allegiant Travel Company reported mixed traffic numbers for July. Traffic for the total system (including scheduled service and fixed fee contract), measured in RPMs, increased 11.3% on a year-over-year basis to 1.31b. System capacity, calculated in ASMs, expanded 12.1% to 1.51b. With capacity expansion outweighing traffic growth, load factor contracted 60 basis points year over year to 86.8%. Allegiant’s passenger count rose 13.4% in the month. The airline recently released Q2 earnings wherein both the top and the bottom line surpassed estimates. Moreover, the metrics improved on a year-over-year basis. High passenger revenues drove the top line despite delivery delays in May. High fuel costs, however, limited bottom-line growth in the reported quarter. Notably, fuel prices surged 39.2%. <br/>