Holiday demand boosts strong fourth quarter for Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines bookings have ‘performed at the better end of expectations in November and December-to-date,’ notes the American carrier in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, adding that it now expects fourth quarter unit revenues ‘to improve to the better end of its previous guidance range’. Estimated total available seat miles in Q4 2023 are up around 21% year-over-year, and crucially, revenue per available seat mile is now down 9% to 10% year-on-year in Q4 (vs a prior outlook for -9% to -11%). Costs per available seat mile are anticipated to be down 16% to 19% during the quarter. Additionally,