Southwest posts a loss but expects revenues to rise as air travel picks up
Southwest Thursday reported a net loss of $278m in the first three months of the year but echoed the optimism of other carriers about the months ahead, saying it has already expanded its work force by 3,300 employees, or about 6%, this year. “While the impact from the Omicron variant in January and February disrupted our anticipated profit recovery in first quarter 2022, we returned to strong profitability in March 2022 on surging travel demand,” Southwest’s CE Bob Jordan said. Despite high fuel prices and suppressed demand for corporate travel, Jordan said, the airline expects to be “solidly profitable” for the rest of the year. But the company may find it difficult to return to and exceed 2019 staffing levels. More than 15 percent of Southwest employees have joined the airline since autumn, Jordan said on a call with investors and analysts, noting that many are still learning and are not yet as productive as they could be. The airline now plans to add 10,000 employees this year, an increase from a January projection of 8,000. Bringing on and training new pilots is especially crucial, Jordan said. “Now when you get to ‘Where are you most constrained?,’ definitely it’s pilots,” he said. “And to some extent it’s our flight instructors to train our pilots.” In February, Southwest finished retraining all of its pilots who took long-term leave during the pandemic, Jordan said. Now, it is trying to replace the hundreds who took buyouts, a process that is between half and two-thirds complete, he said.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2022-04-29/unaligned/southwest-posts-a-loss-but-expects-revenues-to-rise-as-air-travel-picks-up
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Southwest posts a loss but expects revenues to rise as air travel picks up
Southwest Thursday reported a net loss of $278m in the first three months of the year but echoed the optimism of other carriers about the months ahead, saying it has already expanded its work force by 3,300 employees, or about 6%, this year. “While the impact from the Omicron variant in January and February disrupted our anticipated profit recovery in first quarter 2022, we returned to strong profitability in March 2022 on surging travel demand,” Southwest’s CE Bob Jordan said. Despite high fuel prices and suppressed demand for corporate travel, Jordan said, the airline expects to be “solidly profitable” for the rest of the year. But the company may find it difficult to return to and exceed 2019 staffing levels. More than 15 percent of Southwest employees have joined the airline since autumn, Jordan said on a call with investors and analysts, noting that many are still learning and are not yet as productive as they could be. The airline now plans to add 10,000 employees this year, an increase from a January projection of 8,000. Bringing on and training new pilots is especially crucial, Jordan said. “Now when you get to ‘Where are you most constrained?,’ definitely it’s pilots,” he said. “And to some extent it’s our flight instructors to train our pilots.” In February, Southwest finished retraining all of its pilots who took long-term leave during the pandemic, Jordan said. Now, it is trying to replace the hundreds who took buyouts, a process that is between half and two-thirds complete, he said.<br/>
