Southwest Reports Slight Drop in April Passenger Traffic

Southwest Airlines said that it flew 6.5 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in April 2010, a 0.6 percent decrease from the RPMs flown in April 2009. Available seat miles (ASMs) decreased 2.9 percent to 8.2 billion from the April 2009 level of 8.5 billion.

The load factor for the month was 78.8 percent, compared to 77 percent for the same period last year. For April 2010, passenger revenue per ASM is estimated to have increased in the 18 to 19 percent range as compared to April 2009.

For the first four months of 2010, Southwest flew 23.6 billion RPMs, compared to 23.4 billion RPMs for the same period in 2009, an increase of 1 percent. Available seat miles decreased 5.5 percent to 30.8 billion from the 2009 level of 32.6 billion. The year-to-date load factor was 76.7 percent, compared to 71.7 percent for the same period last year.