Southwest announces Jan-2010 traffic highlights

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) announced today that the Company flew 5.5 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in January 2010, a 7.1 percent increase from the 5.1 billion RPMs flown in January 2009. Available seat miles (ASMs) decreased 6.7 percent to 7.6 billion from the January 2009 level of 8.2 billion. The load factor for the month was 72.1 percent, compared to 62.8 percent for the same period last year. For January 2010, passenger revenue per ASM is estimated to have increased in the 14 to 15 percent range compared to January 2009.