Originally Posted by
Beckles
LUV has been profitable for 36 consecutive years and delivered profit of over $2 billion over the last five years combined. I don't see how that can reasonably be interpreted as "barely breaking even or losing money for quite some time now" as you characterize it.
Southwest has been experiencing losses since the 3rd Quarter of '08. It was that third quarter net loss that ended their 17-year profit streak.
In Q4, they had an additional net loss of $56million. Not sure what a definition of "quite some time now", but 6 months of losses is a decent amount of time.
And in their recent filings, they said their revenue and bookings are down significantly for the first 2 months of '09, setting the stage for continued losses. Like CO and all the other carriers, Southwest reported that business travel was down significantly...and as a result, their company's "revenue outlook for the remainder of the year is more cautious."
Southwest is no longer immune to the fluctuations of the challenged U.S. aviation market. They offer a very simple, very limited product ...and deliver it with efficiency and ease. But with fuel hedges not delivering what they used to, and the economy a mess, I think Southwest can fairly be lumped with other US carriers as having very troubling times for the foreseeable future.