Southwest Airlines sees Q3 leisure travel revenue above expectations

A Southwest Airlines commercial aircraft approaches to land at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California U.S. January 18, 2022. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Sept 15 (Reuters) – Southwest Airlines Co’s (LUV.N) revenue from leisure travel for the current quarter was exceeding its expectations, the U.S. carrier said on Thursday, underlining strong appetite for travel despite high inflation.

The airline said it continues to experience “strong revenue trends” in the third quarter, which is typically marked by a drop in leisure travel after the labor holiday weekend. (https://bit.ly/3UaOJNI)

Airline commentary on demand has been the focus of investors amid fears that decades high inflation will eat into household budgets. But so far, U.S. carriers say they have not experienced any meaningful hit.

“Although early in the booking curve, the company continues to experience strong revenue trends in fourth quarter 2022,” Southwest said, while reaffirming full-year profit expectations.

The company tightened its operating revenue growth for the quarter through September to 9% to 11% from the comparable 2019 quarter, versus its previous expectation of 8% to 12%

Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza

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