Airfare Index Jumps 22.4% as Airline Passenger Trends Split

U.S. airfares rose in September as major airlines posted different third-quarter traffic results: Southwest carried fewer revenue passengers, United carried more, and American filled a smaller share of its expanded capacity. The company figures show varied airline trends rather than a uniform change in passenger demand.

The airline-fares index climbed 22.4% from September 2025 and 1.2% from August. Overall consumer prices rose 3.7% year over year. The index tracks price changes, not the dollar cost of an average ticket, and differs from holiday fare estimates that compared round-trip prices for specific travel periods.

Southwest’s average passenger fare reached $231.69 in the third quarter, up 26.9% from a year earlier. The airline carried 33.467 million revenue passengers, down 3.2%, while operating revenue rose 21.2% to $8.422 billion. Operating revenue per available seat mile increased 21.6% to 18.55 cents as capacity edged down 0.4%.

Southwest passenger revenue grew 22.8% as more customers chose fare benefits and add-ons, including checked-bag fees, assigned seats and extra-legroom seating. “Demand remained strong as we lapped last year’s bag fee and other commercial initiatives,” Southwest Airlines President and CEO Bob Jordan said.

United carried 49.527 million passengers, up 2.4%, and increased capacity 1.3%. Its total revenue per available seat mile rose 15.9%.

American Airlines’ load factor — the share of available seats filled by passengers — fell 2.6 percentage points to 83.4% as capacity grew 4.2%. Premium revenue rose 22.9%, and premium products generated roughly half of ticket revenue on about 30% of seats.

Southwest’s fuel expense rose $821 million, or 61.7%, from a year earlier. Its average fuel cost reached $3.92 per gallon, compared with $2.40 in the year-earlier quarter. American reported a $269 million third-quarter net loss and forecast a 2026 adjusted loss of $1.00 to $1.60 per diluted share.

“While historically high fuel prices significantly impacted our financial results, our focus remains on restoring profitability and building a stronger American for the long term,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said.