Southwest Airlines Reports January Traffic

The FINANCIAL — Southwest Airlines Co. on February 8 reported its January preliminary traffic statistics.

The Company flew 9.4 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in January 2017, an increase of 4.6 percent from the 8.9 billion RPMs flown in January 2016. Available seat miles (ASMs) increased 6.2 percent to 12.3 billion in January 2017, compared with January 2016 ASMs of 11.5 billion. The January 2017 load factor was 76.3 percent, compared with 77.5 percent in January 2016. Based on these results and current trends, the Company continues to expect its first quarter 2017 operating revenue per ASM (RASM) to be flat to down one percent, as compared with first quarter 2016, according to Southwest Airlines.