Southwest Traffic down from Last September

Southwest Airlines Co. said that the company flew 5.3 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in September 2008, a 5.9 percent decrease from the 5.6 billion RPMs flown in September 2007. Available seat miles (ASMs) increased 0.8 percent to 8.4 billion from the September 2007 level of 8.3 billion.

The load factor for the month was 63.4 percent, compared to 67.9 percent for the same period last year. For the third quarter 2008, Southwest flew 18.8 billion RPMs, compared to the 19.7 billion RPMs recorded for the same period in 2007, a decrease of 4.4 percent.

Available seat miles increased 2.2 percent to 26.3 billion from the third quarter 2007 level of 25.7 billion. The third quarter 2008 load factor was 71.6 percent, compared to 76.6 percent for the same period last year.

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2008, Southwest flew 56.2 billion RPMs, compared to the 54.8 billion RPMs recorded for the same period in 2007, an increase of 2.6 percent. Available seat miles increased 4.6 percent to 77.8 billion from the 2007 level of 74.4 billion. The year-to-date load factor was 72.3 percent, compared to 73.7 percent for the same period last year.