Aviation Intelligence Database · Airline profile
Airline profile
Company-reported performance, unit economics, balance-sheet and fleet metrics from FY2022 to the latest published period. Metrics are in the same order as the Airline Comparison tool.
At a glance
Latest reported period
Trends
Performance over time
Headline metrics and the gap between unit revenue and unit cost, FY2022 to the latest period.
Metrics
Full-year history
Analysis
What the numbers say
More detail
Additional disclosures
Guidance vs actual
Did the airline deliver?
What management guided at the start of each financial year compared with what was reported. Within the guided range = met; for cost metrics, below the range = beat.
Fleet & orders
Fleet composition
Key events
What moved the numbers
Peers
Compare with peers
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Methodology
How to read this page
Every figure keeps the company’s own reporting period, currency, entity scope and terminology. Partial periods are not annualised, currencies are not converted and missing KPIs are not estimated. The first 14 rows are the metrics used in the Airline Comparison tool.
- Fiscal years are labelled by the calendar year in which they end (a year to 31 Mar 2025 appears as FY2025). The exact period end is shown in the first row, with a link to the source document.
- Quarters follow the company’s reporting calendar; the company’s own label is noted beneath the period.
- YoY change compares with the same period one year earlier: % change for amounts, percentage points (pp) for ratios. Green means favourable (for costs, a fall is favourable). n.m. = not meaningful.
- Operating margin is operating result ÷ revenue unless the company defines its own margin (marked D).
- Sources: annual reports, interim results and traffic statements. See Data & Research.
Text version of the Southwest Airlines data on this page
Southwest Airlines data snapshot
- Scope: Southwest Airlines Co.
- Region: North America
- Business model: Low-cost carrier
- Financial year end: 31 Dec
- Reporting currency: USD
- Source: Q2 2026 results
- Latest period: Q2 2026
- Last updated: 2026-09-24
Latest read
Southwest’s 2026 commercial changes materially lifted unit revenue. Its multi-year series shows modest capacity growth but lower load factors since 2023, making the recent RASM improvement central to restoring earnings power.
Reported metrics by period
Annual results
- FY2025 (year ended 31 Dec): Passengers: 134.1m; Revenue: $28.06bn; Operating profit / result: $0.43bn operating income; Load factor: 77.4%; RASK / yield: 15.59¢ RASM; CASK ex-fuel: 15.35¢ CASM; Fleet size: 803 aircraft (Year end); Net profit: $441m net income.
- FY2024 (year ended 31 Dec): Passengers: 140.0m; Revenue: $27.48bn; Operating profit / result: $0.32bn operating income; Load factor: 80.4%; RASK / yield: 15.51¢ RASM; CASK ex-fuel: 15.32¢ CASM; Fleet size: 803 aircraft (Year end); Net profit: $465m net income.
- FY2023 (year ended 31 Dec): Revenue: $26.09bn; Operating profit / result: $0.22bn operating income; Load factor: 80.0%; RASK / yield: 15.32¢ RASM; CASK ex-fuel: 15.19¢ CASM; Net profit: $465m net income.
Quarterly and interim results
- Q2 2026 (Q2 2026 · quarter ended 30 Jun): Passengers: 34.331m (Revenue passengers); Revenue: $8.4bn; Load factor: 79.3%; RASK / yield: 17.91¢ RASM; CASK ex-fuel: 12.45¢ CASM-X (Ex fuel and special items; total CASM 17.30¢) [Defined]; Operating profit / result: $285m operating income (GAAP; includes $285m breakage-revenue adjustment); Operating margin: 3.4% (Reported operating margin; includes breakage-revenue adjustment); Cash / liquidity: $5.3bn liquidity ($3.8bn cash and equivalents + $1.5bn revolving credit at 30 Jun 2026); Net debt / cash / leverage: 2.1× (Gross leverage at quarter end) [Defined]; Fleet size: 803 aircraft (At 30 Jun 2026); Fleet growth / guidance: ≈1.5% capacity growth (FY2026 guidance); Capacity / ASK: 47.093bn ASM (Q2 2026). Source: Southwest Airlines Q2 2026 results.
Guidance versus actual
| Period | Metric | Guided | Actual | Outcome / note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | Adjusted EPS | $3.25–4.25 | — | Pending |
Fleet
Total fleet: 803 aircraft (as of Q2 2026). Fleet count was 803 in both FY2024 and FY2025.
| Fleet fact | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and equivalents | $3.79bn | Q2 2026 |
| Average Q2 fare | $225.61 | Reported |
| FY2025 liquidity | $4.73bn | Cash plus revolver |
| FY2025 leverage | 2.4× | Company-defined |
| 2025 deliveries / retirements | 55 / 55 | Fleet renewal |
Reported financial history
US$ billion unless stated otherwise.
| Year | Operating revenue | Operating income | Net income | Passengers | Fleet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 26.09 | 0.22 | $465m | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| 2024 | 27.48 | 0.32 | $465m | 140.0m | 803 |
| 2025 | 28.06 | 0.43 | $441m | 134.1m | 803 |
Passenger and fleet values were not added in the source table for FY2023; no estimate has been inserted.
Traffic and unit economics
Southwest’s reported traffic and unit definitions are retained. CASM-X and adjusted RASM use company definitions.
| Year | RPM | ASM | Load factor | Yield | RASM | PRASM | CASM | CASM ex-fuel | Fuel / gal. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Not disclosed | 170.32bn | 80.0% | Not disclosed | 15.32¢ | 13.88¢ | 15.19¢ | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| 2024 | 142.52bn | 177.25bn | 80.4% | 17.53¢ | 15.51¢ | 14.09¢ | 15.32¢ | 12.05¢ | $2.64 |
| 2025 | 139.44bn | 180.05bn | 77.4% | 18.31¢ | 15.59¢ | 14.18¢ | 15.35¢ | 12.44¢ | $2.41 |
Q2 2026 operating snapshot
Q2 passenger and unit figures are company reported.
| Metric | Q2 2026 | YoY change |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue passengers | 34.331m | -3.3% |
| RPM | 37.346bn | +1.2% |
| ASM | 47.093bn | +0.2% |
| Load factor | 79.3% | +0.8pt |
| RASM | 17.91¢ | +16.2% |
| Adjusted RASM | 18.51¢ | +20.1% |
| CASM | 17.30¢ | +15.8% |
| CASM-X | 12.45¢ | +3.4% |
Commercial transition
The fleet count has stayed broadly flat while the commercial model has changed substantially. The key question is how assigned seating, new fare architecture and other revenue initiatives change RASM without permanently lifting the cost base.
Outlook
What to watch Where a clean annual figure was absent from the source set, it remains unfilled.
What to watch:
- RASM: whether the double-digit 2026 improvement is durable.
- Load factor: recovery from the 2025 annual trough.
- CASM-X: whether transformation spending remains contained.
- Assigned seating and fare changes: revenue impact.
- 737 availability and delivery timing.