© by TheStreet
Southwest reported that travel demand and revenue trends in March “were strong, recording strong profitability for the month and revenue in the first quarter.”
Christmas Day is one of the shortest days of the year and probably the longest for Southwest Airlines. ( LUV ) .
That’s when the Dallas-based airline canceled 23% of its flights since Dec. 26, temporarily stranding hundreds of thousands of people caught in the crosshairs of a busy holiday season.
Do not open. Delta and JetBlue Make Passenger Haters Move (Southwest Won’t)
Southwest had the dubious honor of keeping the list for both canceled and delayed flights.
The problems have continued since Christmas, when Southwest canceled 39% of its flights and delayed 43%.
There’s been a lot of airline talk this holiday season, but nothing resembling news of comfort and joy.
Most recently, on April 25, Southwest experienced another problem after briefly grounding all flights to “resolve data communication issues caused by a firewall failure.”
“Waiting for a safe recovery.”
The airline could probably use some good news right now, and on April 27, Southwest reported first-quarter revenue of $5.7 billion, up 22 percent from a year ago and in line with Wall Street estimates.
“As expected, we experienced a net loss of $380 million before tax in the first quarter of 2023, or $294 million before tax due to the negative financial impact of the December 2022 shutdown,” said Bob Jordan. President and CEO. In the description.
Most of the impact came from a $325 million loss in canceled holiday trips and a slowdown in bookings in January and February, Jordan said.
“Despite this, travel demand and revenue trends were strong in March 2023 and led to strong returns for the month and revenue in the first quarter,” the report said.
According to the CEO, the negative impact on earnings was mostly limited to January and February, and there was a “steady recovery” in March.
“The current booking curve appears to be returning to pre-pandemic norms, and vacation demand and production remain strong ahead of the busy summer travel season,” Jordan said.
Based on the airline’s revenue trend and cost outlook, which includes market-rate offers in all open contracts, Jordan says: Return on investment capital for the full year 2023.
On strong winds
But there are some serious opponents for the airline.
Southwest posted an adjusted loss of 27 cents per share, beating analysts’ estimates of 22 cents, and the airline posted a loss of $159 million for the quarter.
The airline also said it had taken delivery of 20 fewer Max planes from Boeing. ( B.A ) This year, the projected capacity in 2023 is reduced by one point from last year.
Investors weren’t too happy as the stock was down more than 5% at last check.
Southwest also came under attack in a recently released WalletHub study.
The personal finance website ranked the nine largest US airlines and two regional airlines based on 14 metrics, from cancellation and delay fees to lost baggage and flight comfort.
Delta Air Lines ( D.L ) – Get the free report It topped the list with the lowest rates of cancellations, delays, mishandled bags and denied boarding.
Spirit Airlines ( Save ) – Get a free report SkyWest ( SKYW ) – Get a free report United Airlines ( UAL ) – Get a free report and Alaska Airlines ( ALK ) – Get a free report – He added five.
Meanwhile, Southwest is ranked last. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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