Southwest Airlines seeing ‘strong’ revenue trends as leisure travel tops expectations

Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. LUV, +1.44% rose 0.5% in premarket trading Thursday, after the air carrier said it was seeing “strong” revenue trends for the third quarter, boosted by better-than-anticipated leisure travel and “strong travel demand” for the Labor Day holiday weekend. The company revised its third-quarter revenue guidance to 9% to 11% growth from 2019 levels, compared with previous guidance of 8% to 12% growth. The company affirmed its estimate that available seat miles (ASM, or capacity) will be flat with 2019 levels, and that economic fuel costs per gallon would be $3.25 to $3.35. The company said its 2022 capacity plans remain stable, and expected to decline 4% from 2019 levels, while its flight schedule was recently extended through April 10, 2023. The stock has gained 2.2% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the U.S. Global Jets ETF JETS, +1.67% has advanced 3.8% and the S&P 500 SPX, +0.34% has tacked on 4.1%.