A year after meltdown, Southwest Airlines says it’s not delivering on financial goals
Southwest Airlines reported a fourth-quarter loss of $219 million on Thursday, over a year since its December 2022 meltdown that cost the airline.
The Dallas-based air carrier reported a $498 million profit for 2024 and record fourth-quarter and full-year operating revenues of $6.8 billion and $26.1 billion. But the air carrier isn’t satisfied yet with its profitability.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, Southwest had a massive operational meltdown that displaced thousands of passengers and their belongings, resulting in a $140 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“At this time last year, we were getting back on our feet from the disruption following Winter Storm Elliott,” Southwest CEO Bob Jordan told investors. “We quickly mobilized to put immediate mitigation efforts in place while simultaneously building a robust plan to prepare us for future extreme winter weather disruptions.”
Southwest saw a fourth-quarter cost per available seat mile decrease of 18.1%, year-over-year, due to the elevated operating expenses and lower capacity levels in 2022’s fourth-quarter, a result of the December 2022 disruption.
