DALLAS, Jan. 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) (the "Company") today reported its December, fourth quarter, and total year 2018 preliminary traffic statistics.
The Company flew 11.1 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in December 2018, an increase of 3.3 percent from the 10.7 billion RPMs flown in December 2017. Available seat miles (ASMs) increased 5.4 percent to 13.6 billion in December 2018, compared with December 2017 ASMs of 12.9 billion. The December 2018 load factor was 81.6 percent, compared with 83.3 percent in December 2017.
This release, as well as past news releases about Southwest Airlines Co., is available online at Southwest.com.
Southwest Airlines Co.
Preliminary Comparative Traffic Statistics
DECEMBER
2018
2017
Change
Revenue passengers carried
11,211,115
11,077,369
1.2%
Enplaned passengers
13,619,622
13,344,173
2.1%
Revenue passenger miles (000s)
11,069,368
10,713,293
3.3%
Available seat miles (000s)
13,563,854
12,868,065
5.4%
Load factor
81.6%
83.3%
(1.7) pts.
Average length of haul (miles)
987
967
2.1%
Trips flown
115,789
113,451
2.1%
FOURTH QUARTER
2018
2017
Change
Revenue passengers carried
34,432,204
33,695,001
2.2%
Enplaned passengers
41,707,440
40,428,884
3.2%
Revenue passenger miles (000s)
33,715,984
32,189,839
4.7%
Available seat miles (000s)
40,366,897
37,886,814
6.5%
Load factor
83.5%
85.0%
(1.5) pts.
Average length of haul (miles)
979
955
2.5%
Trips flown
347,331
337,190
3.0%
TOTAL YEAR
2018
2017
Change
Revenue passengers carried
134,890,243
130,256,190
3.6%
Enplaned passengers
163,605,833
157,677,218
3.8%
Revenue passenger miles (000s)
133,322,322
129,041,420
3.3%
Available seat miles (000s)
159,795,153
153,811,072
3.9%
Load factor
83.4%
83.9%
(0.5) pts.
Average length of haul (miles)
988
991
(0.3)%
Trips flown
1,375,030
1,347,893
2.0%
SW-T
View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/southwest-airlines-reports-december-traffic-300774256.html
Southwest Airlines Co. is one of the American largest airline companies. Net sales break down by activity as follows:
- transport of passengers (89.9%);
- freight transport (0.7%);
- other (9.4%).
At the end of 2022, the group operated a fleet of 770 aircrafts.