Southwest Airlines Reports May Traffic -2.6% May Not Compare vs 5.6% Est

Southwest Airlines Co. LUV today reported May 2012 consolidated traffic results for Southwest Airlines and AirTran. AirTran became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Southwest Airlines Co. ("the Company") on May 2, 2011. For purposes of comparability, the Company is providing combined traffic results for Southwest Airlines and AirTran for periods prior to the acquisition date. See the accompanying tables for combined results. The Company flew 9.0 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in May 2012, compared to 9.2 billion RPMs flown in May 2011, a decrease of 2.6 percent. Available seat miles (ASMs) decreased 0.9 percent to 11.0 billion from the May 2011 level of 11.1 billion. The load factor for May 2012 was 81.3 percent, compared to 82.7 percent in May 2011. For May 2012, passenger revenue per ASM (PRASM) is estimated to have increased in the five to six percent range as compared to May 2011.