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Key revenue measure falls at Southwest Airlines

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Grandpa +65

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Key revenue measure falls at Southwest Airlines

The Associated Press2:01 p.m. EDT May 7, 2013

DALLAS (AP) ? Traffic is up but a key revenue measure is down at Southwest Airlines, indicating that carriers are finding it harder to sell high-priced tickets.
Southwest said Tuesday that passenger revenue per seat for every mile fell by between 4 percent and 5 percent in April.
That's a closely watched measure of pricing power in the airline industry, and Southwest's report echoed last week's news from US Airways, which said that the revenue ratio fell 4 percent in April. US Airways said travel by government employees dropped after automatic federal spending cuts took effect.
The revenue ratio was flat at Southwest in March compared with the year before. It rose when carriers imposed frequent fare increases over the previous couple of years.
Southwest, which owns AirTran Airways, said that traffic on the two carriers rose 1.5 percent last month compared with April 2012. Passengers flew 8.74 billion miles. The average trip was 16 miles longer, at 942 miles.
However, the increase in traffic wasn't enough to keep up with expansion at Southwest and AirTran. The airlines added 4.1 percent passenger-carrying capacity ? that figure rises when carriers add flights, use bigger planes or fly longer trips.
The expansion left a few more empty seats. Average occupancy on April flights was 77.8 percent, down from 79.8 percent in April 2012.
Dallas-based Southwest carries more passengers within the United States than any airline, although it is the nation's fourth-largest airline by passenger miles behind United, Delta and American, which all offer long international flights.
In morning trading, shares of Southwest rose 5 cents to $14.30. They are up 40 percent for the year. Airline stocks have been soaring on steady travel demand, stable fuel prices and the expectation that mergers will make the surviving carriers more profitable.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/today...-measure-falls-at-southwest-airlines/2141813/
 
Already covered in the latest Earnings Conference Call. Same is pretty much true of all the other majors.....DL, US, etc.


Here's more of the same...




Southwest Airlines says unit revenues dropped 4-5 percent in April

40d1387733b262e28bc7b97654140c15

By Terry Maxon
[email protected]
9:42 am on May 7, 2013 | Permalink


Southwest Airlines on Tuesday joined the list of U.S. airlines reporting that their passenger unit revenues declined in April compared to a year earlier.
Southwest said its unit revenues, or revenues per available seat mile flown, dropped four to five percent last month compared to April 2012. That compares to declines of two percent for Delta Air Lines, four percent for US Airways and 10.7 percent to 11.1 percent for Allegiant Air.
Southwest said its passenger traffic increased 1.5 percent in April compared to April 2012, but its capacity increased more, up 4.1 percent. As a result, its load factor dropped two percentage points, to 77.8 percent.
The carriers had warned investors in April during first-quarter earnings calls that weakness in March had extended into April. However, they said that demand appeared firmer going forward.
'We're seeing booking strength return for May and June,' Southwest chairman and CEO Gary Kelly said on Southwest's call April 25, 'and, assuming that these May-June trends continue, they should be strong months.'
'Our bookings for the summer look quite solid,' Delta CEO Richard Anderson said on his company's earnings call April 23.
US Airways president Scott Kirby said on his company's April 23 earnings call that unit revenues in May and June are expected to be flat to down two percent, versus steeper declines in March and April.
 
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This process has been difficult, and many employees and their families have had to adjust to changes, but this is hardly earth-shattering news. They are merging the companies, and continuing to make money while doing so. Continuing to make profits, or larger profits as the merger work continues is hardly worth commenting on, IMO.
 

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