Southwest reports major fall in passenger demand

In its first quarter guidance, Southwest Airlines notes that although it experienced “healthy passenger booking and revenue trends for the first two months of 2020”, with year-over-year increases in operating revenue per available seat mile (RASM, or unit revenues), the airline is now experiencing a significant decline in customer demand, as well as an increase in trip cancellations, which is assumed to be attributable to concerns relating to reported cases of COVID-19. Based on these recent revenue trends, which are currently expected to impact the remainder of March 2020, Southwest now estimates its first quarter 2020 operating revenues to be