Southwest says it’s losing ‘big money’ on every flight

Southwest is losing “big money” on every flight, raising the risk of worker furloughs in the longer-term despite billions of dollars in immediate aid from the US government. The biggest US discounter is “appreciative” of the package of loans and cash assistance approved by the Senate and awaiting a vote in the House of Representatives, Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly said Thursday. If approved and signed by President Donald Trump, the program would provide an option to secure cash “that’s at least accessible, and quickly and simply,” he said. “The load factors are at levels we’ve never seen,” Kelly said in a video message to employees. “I can assure you we are losing money on every single flight, and big money. So that can’t be sustained indefinitely.” Kelly said he’s a “firm believer” that in economic catastrophes the federal government must “flood the country with liquidity or cash to give people the means to get through this” and avoid bankruptcies across industries. Airlines are among those hardest hit by the crisis, he said. Southwest, which has never laid off workers or cut pay, doesn’t have plans for furloughs, but “I can’t promise that won’t happen,” Kelly said.<br/>