Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) has reported a smaller quarterly loss and said it would remain profitable for the rest of this year as travel bookings rebound with COVID-19 vaccinations.
The U.S. budget carrier, which flies more Americans domestically than any other carrier, has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the easing of pandemic restrictions.
In its second quarter earnings report, Southwest said it stopped burning cash in June, with an average core cash flow of about $4 million U.S. per day for the month. Its average core cash burn was about $1 million U.S. per day in the second quarter, down from about $13 million U.S. a day in the first quarter.
June leisure passenger traffic rose above June 2019 levels while passenger fares were on par with the same period two years ago, Southwest Airlines said, adding that the company expected to see further improvement in July.
Southwest said it now expects July operating revenue to drop between 10% and 15% compared with the same period in 2019, an improvement from its previous forecast of a fall between 15% and 20%.
The company expects August operating revenue to decline between 12% and 17% from two years earlier.
Dallas, Texas-based Southwest's net loss narrowed to $206 million U.S., or $0.35 U.S. per share, in the second quarter, up from a loss of $1.50 billion U.S., or $2.67 U.S. a share, a year earlier.
Southwest’s operating revenue rose 300% to $4 billion U.S. from a year earlier but fell about 32% from pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
