Southwest Air CE sees risk of cost pressure lingering after 2019

Southwest Airlines sees a risk that cost pressures will linger beyond next year as it struggles to rein in an unexpected jump in expenses. The carrier can’t yet say whether efforts to control spending and boost sales will ease the drag on profits after next year, CE Gary Kelly said. Southwest is still trimming the 2019 budget and working on a “fairly significant initiative” to increase revenue and improve efficiency at the carrier, which counts labour as its biggest expense. Southwest, which has been investing in technology upgrades, new planes and expanded airport facilities, is drawing heightened scrutiny on expenditures after forecasting last month that costs for each seat flown a mile will increase at least 3% next year even after excluding fuel and certain other items. <br/>