Southwest pax up 3.4%, PRASM up 16% in Aug-2010

Southwest passenger numbers up 3.4% - traffic highlights in Aug-2010:

• Revenue passengers: 7.8 million, +3.4% year-on-year;
• Enplaned passengers: 9.5 million, +6.9%;
• Load factor: 82.3%, +2.1 ppts;
• Passenger revenue per ASM: +15% to +16%;
• Average sector length: 916 miles, +2.9%. [more]

Southwest: "Southwest Airlines flew 7.1 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in August 2010, a 6.4% increase from the RPMs flown in August 2009. Available seat miles (ASMs) increased 3.7% to 8.7 billion from the August 2009 level of 8.3 billion. The load factor for the month was 82.3%, compared to 80.2% for the same period last year. For August 2010, passenger revenue per ASM is estimated to have increased in the 15% to 16% range as compared to August 2009," Company statement. Source: Southwest Airlines, 08-Sep-2010.