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Thursday, October 15, 2009

Southwest Airlines Sees 2010 Capacity Flat To '09

By Christopher Hinton

MarketWatch Pulse

NEW YORK -- Southwest Airlines Co. said Thursday it will keep its 2010 capacity roughly in line with this year. In a call with analysts, Chief Financial Officer Laura Wright said the low-cost airline will take delivery of 10 Boeing 737-700 jets next year, and that it has a like amount leased that will expire at the same time. "Which allows for anywhere from zero to 10 aircraft retirements next year," Wright said. "Flexibility with our retirement schedule and other alternatives provides the ability to adjust our 2010 plans if needed." Southwest is starting to see a recovery in demand, but despite "quite good" bookings for October, November and December, they have been discount-driven, Chief Executive Gary Kelly said. Further, fuel costs are rising, he added. For 2010, Southwest has hedged 65% of its estimated fuel use.

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