Southwest forecasts a slower recovery in business travel

The Dallas-based airline said, however, that business travel has picked up after Labor Day — as it usually does — echoing similar comments by Delta Air Lines on Wednesday.

Southwest caters mostly to leisure travelers but has been making a big push to attract more corporate business, putting it in more direct competition with American, Delta and United.

Southwest offered the third-quarter commentary in a securities filing that generally repeated previous forecasts, including that overall revenue will be about 10% higher than the same period in 2019. Southwest said it had a good Labor Day weekend and revenue is still trending higher than in 2019.

“Although early in the booking curve, the company continues to experience strong revenue trends in fourth quarter 2022,” it said.

Shares of Southwest fell more than 2% in late-morning trading, while other major U.S. airline stocks rose by 2% to 3%.