Southwest Posts Profit Fueled by Strong Holiday Bookings

Skift Take
Southwest Airlines posted a profit for the fourth quarter, boosted by strong holiday bookings and travel demand.
The carrier had a net income of $261 million, compared with a $252 million loss reported last year. Southwest had operating revenues of $6.93 billion for the fourth quarter.
“We closed out 2024 with positive momentum from our revenue initiatives and the performance of our operation,” said CEO Bob Jordan. “While we still have much work to do, we are pleased that the improvements from our tactical initiatives are materializing faster than expected, and our progress continues to be further supported by a constructive demand environment and industry backdrop.”
Southwest also attributed changes to its revenue management system to the profitable quarter.
For the first quarter, Southwest is expecting revenue per available seat mile, a key profitability metric in the industry, to be up between 5% and 7%.
Earlier in the month, Southwest said it planned to halt most corporate hiring and summer internships to cut costs. Southwest had faced pressure from activist investor Elliott Investment Management to improve its bottom line.
While Elliott had pushed for a leadership overhaul, the two companies settled on five board seats for Elliott and allowed Jordan to stay on as CEO.
Southwest unveiled a turnaround strategy in September that involves premium seats, red-eye flights, airline partnerships and capacity cuts in unprofitable areas.
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