DALLAS — Southwest Airlines is posting its first quarterly loss in almost a decade and doesn’t see any improvement right now with most planes grounded on the tarmac.
Chairman and CEO Gary Kelly said in a prepared statement that, “The U.S. economy has been at a standstill, and the current outlook for second quarter 2020 indicates no material improvement in air travel trends.”
On Tuesday, the Dallas carrier said it swung to a loss of $94 million for the quarter ended March 31, from a $387 million profit last year.
Adjusted per-share earnings were 15 cents, not as bad as the losses of 48 cents per share that Wall Street was looking for, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research.
Revenue was $4.23 billion.
Southwest expects operating revenue to slide 90% to 95% this month and next.
