Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V.

Second-quarter operating revenue was $859 million, up 24% year over year on 2% capacity growth. EBITDAR was $141 million, with a 16.3% margin, above the company’s roughly 13% guidance; TRASM was $0.095, up 22% year over year; CASM ex-fuel was $0.0675; and CASM was $0.1058, up 31% year over year. Net loss was $127 million, EBIT was negative $99 million, and cash flow from operating activities was $272 million. The company ended Q2 with $824 million in cash, up $58 million sequentially, and net debt-to-EBITDAR was 3.3x. For Q3, Volaris guided to ASM growth of about 10%, TRASM of around $0.0990, CASM ex-fuel of approximately $0.0635, and an EBITDAR margin of around 22%. For full year 2026, management expects ASM growth of about 5%, an EBITDAR margin of around 23%, and CapEx of around $350 million.

Enrique Beltranena said Volaris moved quickly to protect liquidity and keep every route cash positive despite what he called the most challenging fuel environment in the company’s history. He emphasized disciplined capacity allocation, fare calibration, and international network expansion as the key levers behind the quarter’s resilience. His tone was confident and defensive at the same time: focused on preserving cash and margins now, while framing fleet recovery and network diversification as long-term value drivers.

Jaime Pous highlighted that the quarter’s financial performance was helped by strong revenue growth and by fuel being about 8% below the assumption in guidance. He cited operating revenue of $859 million, EBITDAR of $141 million, a 16.3% margin, net loss of $127 million, and cash flow from operations of $272 million. On the balance sheet, he noted $824 million of liquidity, net debt-to-EBITDAR of 3.3x, an engine financing facility that generated $78 million in net proceeds, and a lowered lease-liability path from about $3.2 billion today to about $2.8 billion by year-end 2027. He also said CapEx will be around $350 million in 2026, with more than 90% tied to maintenance, inductions, and redeliveries.

Analysts focused on CASM ex-fuel, fleet redeliveries, fuel recapture, and the Starlink announcement. Management said Q3 CASM ex-fuel of $0.0635 still reflects FX, U.S. flying mix, maintenance and redelivery events, plus lower Pratt & Whitney compensation as AOGs decline. On fuel recapture, Holger said Volaris calculates it differently than peers and achieved 28% in Q2 on its guidance basis, with about 86% recapture in the U.S.-Mexico transborder market; management expects transborder recapture to reach 100% by year-end under current conditions. On Starlink, Holger said the contract was negotiated as part of the Indigo Partners deal, rollout is expected across the fleet in 2027, and pricing is not yet defined, while Jaime said the operational data benefits should fully amortize the installation CapEx.