Southwest Airlines, based in Dallas, reported a loss of income in the first quarter after announcing several long -standing policy changes, including “Fly Free bags”.
Dallas – Southwest Airlines said a loss of $ 149 million in the first quarter on Wednesday.
The company based in Dallas suffered a loss of 26 cents per share, the airline announced in a press release. The losses, adjusted for non -recurring costs, have reached 13 cents per share.
The results beat Wall Street’s expectations. The average estimate of eight analysts questioned by Zacks Investment Research concerned a loss of 18 cents per share.
The airline recorded revenues of $ 6.43 billion during the period, also beating forecasts. Seven analysts interviewed by Zacks expected $ 6.4 billion.
“Although the wider economic environment has been dynamic, we remain focused on the execution of our transformational plan,” said Bob Jordan, president and chief executive officer of Southwest Airlines. “On costs, we beat our previously adjusted advice and are on the right track to achieve the increase in the objectives of the cost reduction plan announced last month.”
The airline has announced a series of policy changes in the past year. The recorded bags will no longer fly for free and the seats will be allocated. The airline will also sell premium and basic prices, will offer red -eyed flights and will announce flights to Expedia. In February, the company announced the first mass layoffs in its history.
“We see positive results on recently deployed initiatives, including the launch of Expedia as a new distribution channel and the additional optimization of our loyalty program,” said Jordan. “Looking at the future, we are confident in the initiatives we have described and the value we expect to produce. We are committed to executing these plans while controlling what we can control.”
To this end, the airline has announced that it would reduce the capacity to the second half. Overall, the airline’s capacity will be up 1% from one year to the next, the press release said.
