Southwest Airlines April Revenue Passenger Miles up 8.7%

Southwest Airlines Co. LUV announced today that the Company flew 7.0 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in April 2011, an 8.7 percent increase from the 6.5 billion RPMs flown in April 2010. Available seat miles (ASMs) increased 7.5 percent to 8.8 billion from the April 2010 level of 8.2 billion. The load factor for the month was 79.7 percent, compared to 78.8 percent for April 2010. For April 2011, passenger revenue per ASM is estimated to have increased in the four to five percent range compared to April 2010.