Southwest Q4 profit falls, federal shutdown hurts revenue
Southwest Airlines says it has lost US$10m to $15m so far from the partial govt shutdown but overall travel demand remains strong, boosting the carrier's outlook for Q1 revenue. The airline disclosed the shutdown impact Thursday as it reported a smaller Q4 profit than a year earlier, but still better than analysts had expected. The govt shutdown is grounding some govt and contractor travellers. It is also delaying approval of Southwest's plan to begin flying from California to Hawaii, because FAA regulators who must approve the service remain off the job. CE Gary Kelly said demand for tickets remains strong, including among corporate travellers. Southwest predicted that revenue for each seat flown one mile will rise by between 4% and 5% in Q1 if there is no further damage from the govt shutdown. <br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2019-01-25/unaligned/southwest-q4-profit-falls-federal-shutdown-hurts-revenue
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Southwest Q4 profit falls, federal shutdown hurts revenue
Southwest Airlines says it has lost US$10m to $15m so far from the partial govt shutdown but overall travel demand remains strong, boosting the carrier's outlook for Q1 revenue. The airline disclosed the shutdown impact Thursday as it reported a smaller Q4 profit than a year earlier, but still better than analysts had expected. The govt shutdown is grounding some govt and contractor travellers. It is also delaying approval of Southwest's plan to begin flying from California to Hawaii, because FAA regulators who must approve the service remain off the job. CE Gary Kelly said demand for tickets remains strong, including among corporate travellers. Southwest predicted that revenue for each seat flown one mile will rise by between 4% and 5% in Q1 if there is no further damage from the govt shutdown. <br/>
