FIRST QUARTER RESULTS

Adjusted loss per share $1.72, estimate loss/share $1.85 (range loss/share $1.24 to $2.59) (Bloomberg Consensus)
Operating revenue $2.05 billion, estimate $2.06 billion (range $1.59 billion to $2.37 billion)
Passenger revenue $1.71 billion, estimate $1.75 billion
Freight revenue $43 million, estimate $38.1 million
Available seat miles 23.15 billion, estimate 23.33 billion
PRASM 7.40c, estimate 7c
Rev. passenger miles 14.88 billion, estimate 13.79 billion
Load factor 64.3%, estimate 60.6%
Sees Apr. load factor 75% to 80%
Sees April operating revenue down 40% to 45% from 2019 level

COMMENTARY AND CONTEXT

Sees May Operating Rev Down 35% to 40% From 2019

Sees May Load Factor 75% to 80%

Sees Improving Passenger Traffic and Fares
“While the pandemic is not over, we believe the worst is behind us, in terms of the severity of the negative impact on travel demand,” CEO Gary C. Kelly said

The company continues to see an an increase in bookings, with about 35% and 20% of anticipated bookings currently in place for June and July, respectively

Excluding special items, first quarter 2021 CASM increased 16.7%, year-over-year
The company said economic fuel costs per gallon were at $1.70 in the first quarter, vs. $1.90 a year earlier

The company sees 2Q economic fuel costs per gallon $1.85 to $1.95

The airline’s average core cash burn was $13 million a day in the first quarter, but turned positive for March, when Southwest generated $4 million daily on stronger bookings and revenue. Cash burn -- a metric spawned amid the pandemic when bookings disappeared -- will be $2 million to $4 million a day in the second quarter, with the expectation of breakeven or better for June

Southwest Airlines Co. expects to stop burning cash by June and is adding summer flights almost to 2019 levels as increasing vaccination rates spur trips by vacation-hungry Americans. The carrier’s domestic focus also has shielded it from the near-collapse in flying to many international markets, and Southwest said it plans to continue aggressive expansion