LUV Q1 2022 Earnings

Call Details

• Call Title: Southwest Airlines Company Q1 2022 Earnings Call
• Date: April 28, 2022 at 4:30 PM UTC
• Management Team:
  • Bob Jordan (President and CEO)
  • Tammy Romo (Executive Vice President and CFO)
  • Andrew Watterson (Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer)
  • Mike Van de Ven (President and Chief Operating Officer)
  • Ryan Martinez (Vice President of Investor Relations)
  • Linda Rutherford (Chief Administration and Communications Officer)

Call Summary

Financial Performance

• Southwest reported a first quarter net loss of $191 million excluding special items.
• Total operating revenues in Q1 were restored to 91% of 2019 levels.
• Q1 managed business revenues were restored to only 45% of 2019 levels.
• The company was solidly profitable in March and reported March operating revenues higher than March 2019.
• Q1 operating revenues came in at the midpoint of guidance at down 9% versus 2019.
• Cash and short-term investments ended the quarter at $15.7B and reported leverage of 56%.

Guidance

• Full-year 2022 capacity guidance is now down 4% versus 2019 and remains unchanged.
• Q2 capacity is expected to be down approximately 7% versus Q2 2019.
• Company expects to be solidly profitable for Q2 through Q4 and for the full year 2022, subject to unforeseen events.
• Q2 operating revenues are estimated to be up 8% to 12% versus Q2 2019.
• Full-year CASM-X guidance remains unchanged at up 12% to 16% versus 2019.
• Second quarter CASM-X is estimated to increase 14% to 18% versus 2019.